


Skye the Vampire Slayer

by kitlee625, Sarahastro



Series: Slayerverse [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, villain Ward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-06
Updated: 2015-02-25
Packaged: 2018-02-24 09:29:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 39,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2576600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitlee625/pseuds/kitlee625, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarahastro/pseuds/Sarahastro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Buffy AU. Orphaned and with her watcher dead, newly activated vampire slayer Skye travels from LA to Sunnydale to guard the Hellmouth. There she meets Phil, who becomes her new watcher, and gets help from her new friends Fitz and Jemma. Can they protect the world from evil? Who is this mysterious Ward, and can he be trusted? And whatever happened to the previous slayer, Melinda May?</p><p>All of the chapters are rated T except for Chapter 13, which is rated E.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Given all of the controversy over Ward, we want to warn readers that Ward is not painted in a particularly sympathetic light. Ward is not the Angel to Skye’s Buffy. If it bothers you to see Ward written as a villain, you should not read this story.

“Phil Coulson?”

He looks up to see a teenaged girl staring at him. “Yes? Do you need something?”

“I’m Skye.” She pauses, but when he does not react she says, “Skye. The vampire slayer. You are a Watcher, aren’t you?”

Phil has been dreading this moment for months. As long as a newly activated slayer has not shown up, he can still hold onto the faint hope that she is alive. They never did find Melinda’s body.

“No. Who’s your Watcher?”

“Linda Avery. But she’s dead now. Before she died, she said Sunnydale was the place to be and gave me your name, so I took a bus here.”

“What about your parents?”

“Don’t have any. I’ve been in foster care since I was a baby.”

Phil takes a deep breath. This is exactly what he has been trying to avoid. “I was training to be a Watcher, but I’m not anymore. You need to find someone else.”

“How exactly? Should I just check the Sunnydale Yellow Pages under W for Watcher.”

Underneath her sharp words, Phil can see how scared and tired she looks. She is little more than a kid. “How old are you?”

“Old enough. Fifteen.”

“Shouldn’t you be at home? Or in school?”

“I told you. I don’t have a home. I’ve been kicked out of all the foster homes and group homes in LA.”

Phil sighs and checks his watch. He still has another hour to go before his shift at the campus library is done. “I have to work here for another hour, and then I have to lock up. Are you hungry?” She nods, and he hands her his student ID. “The student center is right next door. Why don’t you get something to eat and meet me back here in an hour.”

Skye looks grateful. “You’re not going to send me away?”

“I’m not going to send you away if you don’t have anyplace else to go. I live in an apartment off campus. You can crash with me until we figure something out.”

*****

“How is she today?”

“No change.”

“What did her neurologic workup show?”

“MRI, CT, and EEG were all unremarkable. Is there anything else we can do?”

“No. She’s recovered remarkably well from the rest of her injuries. We just have to wait and hope that her brain will recover as well. And any word from the police?”

“Nothing. Fingerprints aren’t in the system, and there’s no match for her in the missing persons database. She must be homeless.”

“No. She’s too healthy looking. Somewhere that girl has people missing her.”

*****

Phil’s apartment is only a short walk from the UC Sunnydale campus.

“Nice place,” Skye says. “Is it just you?”

“Yeah. The bathroom is through that door, and the bedroom is right past it. There’s only one, so you’ll have to sleep on the couch.”

“No problem.” She looks around. It is small but surprisingly tidy for a single guy.

He opens up the hall closet, which is mostly empty except for a couple of boxes. “I can make some room for your stuff.”

Skye drops her backpack onto the floor. “This is all the stuff I have.”

“Oh.” He goes into the bedroom and emerges a few minutes later with some sheets, a pillow, and a towel. “Here.”

“Thanks.”

Phil hovers awkwardly as she arranges the sheets and pillow on the couch. "I'll contact the Watchers Council and let them know that you're here. They can send a new watcher to train you. In the meantime you can stay here with me."

Skye shrugs. "Whatever. So where's the major vampire activity?"

"What do you mean?"

"For patrolling. Where's the best place to go?"

"I don't think that's a good idea. The Watchers Council will give us instructions."

Skye gives him an annoyed look. "I'm not a kid. I'm the vampire slayer. It's what I do."

"What sort of weapons do you have?"

"What I need. A few stakes."

Phil shakes his head and goes to the bedroom. He returns a minute later with several vials of holy water and a few crosses. "Here." Seeing her dubious look he adds, "Don't underestimate these. They're good tools to have on hand, just in case."

*****

The first few days with Phil are awkward. He is taciturn and difficult to read. During the day he has classes at UC Sunnydale and his part-time job at the campus library. She winds up spending most of her time sleeping, training alone in his living room, and hanging around campus pretending to be a student. At night she patrols the cemetery, though after a couple of nights she realizes that he comes out too, although he always remains at a safe distance.

“Nice job last night,” he says over breakfast before running to his first class.

“Thanks. You were watching?”

“Yeah. I didn’t want to distract you, but I saw you take down that vampire. Avery taught you well.”

This small bit of praise makes her smile. "Thanks."

“I don’t have any afternoon classes today, so this afternoon I want to work on weapons training. You’re good with a stake, but you need to learn to handle other things as well.”

“Okay. And where do you keep all these weapons?”

“There’s a room in the basement of the library that we can use. Meet me there at 1:00.”

She wonders how they are going to practice in the school library without anyone noticing, but when she gets there Phil swipes her in with a visitor’s pass and leads her downstairs to the basement where there is a large empty study room.

“It’s mostly storage down here, and the library staff rarely comes here. The former slayer used to train here between classes.”

There are mats stacked up against one wall and several targets on wooden posts. Phil lines up some of the targets on the opposite side of the room, then pulls a crossbow out of an old cabinet.

“We should start with the crossbow.” 

He shows her how to load and trigger the device, then has her fire at the targets, correcting her aim and her stance. By the end of the afternoon, Phil has is satisfied with her progress.

“Good work for today. Next time we can work on blades. I have to get to a group meeting for my history class, but I’ll see you back at the apartment.”

“Okay. Are you going to be back for dinner?”

“Probably not. There’s still food, right?”

“Yeah.” She does not want to admit that she has been hoping that they can eat together. Since coming to Sunnydale, she has only met Phil, and it is lonely spending so much of her time alone, trying to avoid being discovered.

The walk back to Phil’s apartment takes her down a dimly lit street, and she notices as soon as she leaves the bustle of campus that there is someone following her. At first she wonders if it is just her imagination, but when she quickens her pace, the footsteps behind her quicken to match.

Between her training and slayer abilities, she is more than equipped to handle the average mugger, and Skye is not one to just sit back and wait to be attacked. She ducks into the nearest alley, and when the person following her stops to search for her, she jumps out of the shadows, fists poised.

“Hey, stalker guy, what’s the deal?”

To her disappointment, the man in front of her does not look remotely intimidated or embarrassed to be caught. If anything, he looks amused. He raises his hands in mock surrender. “Easy there, Slayer. I was just watching your back. It’s dangerous this time of night.”

“How do you know I’m the slayer?”

Hands still raised, he takes a step forward, bringing him into the light. He is tall and very handsome. “Relax. I’m a friend.”

“Did Phil send you?”

“Who’s Phil?”

“He’s my Watcher." The statement may not be strictly true, but it feels true to her. "Who are you? And if you don't know him, how do you know me?"

"I'm Ward. I knew your old Watcher. She spoke very highly of you."

Her stomach twists at the mention of Linda Avery. "How did you know her?"

His pleasantly amused smile is wearing thin. "You ask a lot of questions."

“She never mentioned you.”

“Probably because she didn’t approve of what I was doing. We fought side by side a few times, but she thought I should leave killing vampires to the Slayer.”

She lowers her fists and relaxes her stance. “How do you know about all this - watchers and slayers and vampires?”

“Vampires killed my family many years ago. I managed to escape, and I’ve been fighting them ever since.”

“Is that why you stalked me from LA?”

“I heard about what happened to Avery, and I thought we could help each other out. You’re a new slayer. I’m a mere mortal without slayer powers.”

“You want to help?" Ward nods, and Skye gestures towards the cemetery. "Follow me.”

“Where are we going?”

“To the cemetery. I want to see what you’ve got.”

Ward smiles. “Lead the way.”

*****

By the time she gets back to the apartment, Phil is already there. “Where were you?” he demands.

“Slaying. Got a couple of vampires at the cemetery.”

Phil frowns. “I thought you were coming right back to the apartment. I told you that I didn’t think it was a good idea for you to be out on patrol by yourself yet.”

“I wasn’t by myself. I had this guy with me, Ward.”

“You met a guy?”

Skye raises her eyebrows. “Jealous?”

“Hardly. I need to make sure that you’re safe. Now who is this Ward?”

“Ward’s a good guy. His family was killed by vampires, and he’s been fighting them ever since.”

“So you trust him now?”

“He knew Linda Avery.” She leaves out the part about him following her to Sunnydale. She does not know how he will react to that piece of information. “And we were patrolling together. He really had my back out there.”

Phil still looks cautious. “Just be careful. And don’t let him know where you live.”

“Okay.” She hesitates, then says, “You know, it’s been a long time since someone cared enough about me to worry about where I went and who I was with. It feels nice.”

He gives her a small smile. “That’s my job.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Excuse me. Can we get some help?”

Skye glances up from her book to see two young students waiting at the checkout desk. Tired of being left at the apartment all day again while Phil is at classes and work, she had begged him to take her to campus today. He has installed her at the checkout desk of the library in front of a large tome of vampire lore while he is at classes.

“Uh, sure.” She scoots over to the computer. Phil had forgotten to tell her how to check out books, but there is a list of instructions at the desk, and she has always been good with computers.

“You look familiar. Do we take a class together? What’s your major?” the girl asks.

“Uh, I haven’t decided yet. What about you guys?” She glances at the books as she scans them. Most of them have titles that she cannot even understand. “Science?” she guesses.

“Actually we’re both still in high school. We’re taking some classes here this year for fun.”

Skye stares at the stack of books in front of her. “Looks like a lot of fun.”

“I’m Jemma, and this is Fitz. We’ve seen you around the library a lot.”

“Yeah, I work here with my friend, Phil.”

“Phil Coulson? I thought that was him I saw the other day. He used to go to our high school,” Jemma says.

“Jemma, can we go?” Fitz asks impatiently holding his books. “My mom is going to freak out if I’m late again.”

“I’m coming Fitz. Hold on.” Jemma grabs her books and smiles at Skye. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too.” The two of them hurry out of the library, and Skye returns to her book. After a minute though she shoves it aside. The book is boring, with archaic language and tiny print, and she is tired and hungry. She decides to go over to the student center and get a snack while she waits for Phil.

She has only made it a few steps outside the library when she hears the scream. She dashes around to the rear of the building and finds Jemma, utterly terrified as a vampire approaches her. A few feet away, Fitz is lying in the bushes, whimpering.

“Hey,” Skye shouts, “isn’t it a little early for snack time?”

The vampire growls and turns his attention to Skye. He runs towards her, and Skye dodges his blows, all the while searching for something that she can use as a stake. She spots a branch lying at the foot of a tree, but the momentary distraction allows the vampire a chance to grab her and throw her in the opposite direction. She stays down long enough that he returns to where Jemma is standing frozen with terror, and then dash over to the branch and shoves it right in his back. He disappears in a cloud of dust.

“You guys okay?” Skye asks.

Jemma is shaking, and her eyes are looking around desperately. “Fitz? Where’s Fitz?”

“He’s over here.” Skye squats down beside him. “Fitz, are you okay?”

“Of course I’m not okay! What the hell was that?” he screams.

“Shh,” Skye hisses. “Keep it down. We don’t want to draw attention to us.”

“No! Of course not! Why would we want to people to know that there’s some kind of monster on this campus?”

Jemma comes over and puts her hand on his shoulder. “Fitz, we’re okay. What was that anyway?”

“Vampire.”

“I guess that makes sense. With the stake and all.”

Jemma’s reaction surprises Skye. “Makes sense?” she echoes.

“Well strange things have always happened in this town. Most people ignore it, but we notice these sort of things.”

“We’re not mindless sheep like the rest of the people in this town,” Fitz says in an almost normal tone.

“Thank you for saving us,” Jemma says. “How did you know how to do that? It was amazing.”

“I’ve had run-ins with vampires before,” Skye says. “Anyway, I should really get back to the library. You guys should get home quickly, and be careful.”

When she tells Phil what happened, he is distressed to learn about that there was vampire attack on campus. “There are spells in place to protect the students.”

“You mean like the rule that vampires can’t enter a home without being invited?” She knows that is why Phil will not let her let anyone into the apartment.

“Not as strong. They can enter, but being on campus weakens them. Fury cast them when the former slayer started her freshman year, and after that the vampires never tried to come here.” 

He spends the rest of the night consulting his books to figure out why they are desperate enough to come to campus. In the morning he gives her another stack of books to read while he is at class. She is slowly going through them when Jemma and Fitz show up again.

“Need to check out?” Skye asks.

“No. I mean yes, but that’s not what we wanted to talk to you about,” Fitz says.

“We talked it over, and we wanted to know if you needed any help. With the killing vampires thing. Or anything really.”

Her face is so warm and helpful, and beside her Fitz is nodding vigorously in agreement.

She knows that she is supposed to keep a low profile, but it has been so long since anyone offered to help her. Phil has finally stopped talking about getting a new Watcher assigned to her by the Watchers’ Council, but she still feels like he only helps her because it is his duty, not because he wants to. “Thanks guys.”

“What are you reading?” Fitz asks.

“Some books on vampires. Phil wants me to figure out why they’ve gotten more aggressive, if there’s a new leader in town or something.”

They each grab a book. “Fascinating.” Jemma says gleefully.

When Phil returns after his class, the three of them are sitting behind the checkout desk, going through the books. He gives her a disapproving stare. “Who are these people?”

“I’m Jemma Simmons, and this is Leo Fitz. We’re students at Sunnydale High, taking classes here for fun. You probably don’t remember us, but we were freshmen when you were a senior.”

“Skye?”

“They were attacked by that vampire I told you about last night, and they came by today to help.” Skye smiles up at him. “You said we needed to go through these books by the end of the day.”

Behind her, Fitz and Jemma are chattering away, comparing notes about the passages they are reading. Phil puts his fingers to his temples and rubs as if he is getting a headache. “What did you find out?” They start shoving books under his nose, and he raises one finger. “One and a time.”

“The vampire who attacked us had a strange mark on his forearm. It looked like it had been burned on. Like this.” Jemma shows him a picture of a red skull with tentacles.

Phil studies the picture. “It looks familiar.” 

He has almost blocked out the memory of the night that he had almost died, but seeing the picture brings it all back. He had been looking for answers about Melinda’s disappearance, but all he had found were two vampires. Somehow he had managed to kill the first, but the second stabbed him through the heart. With his dying breath, he had shot him with a crossbow, and that was the last thing he remembered until he woke up in the ICU over a week later. Everything in between was just been a blur of pain and agony. He forces himself to remember those final moments, before he blacked out.

“I’ve seen this mark before. It was on the vampire who nearly killed me.”

“You almost died?” Skye asks horrified, but Phil ignores her.

“According to the book, it’s the mark of a demon named Hydra,” Fitz says.

Jemma gestures to her book. “Hydra is a very old and powerful demon. It may even have inspired the stories from Greek mythology. It has an army of vampires who worship it and bring it human sacrifices.”

“Good work. See if you can find anything else on this Hydra. I’ll let the council know that it may be in the area now. Anything else?”

“Before he attacked us, the vampire was asking questions --” Jemma hesitates, and Fitz finishes for her.

“About you, Phil. He wanted to know where you were, and who you were with these days.”

“Why would a vampire be asking about me?”

“He must know you’re a Watcher and wanted to know who the new Slayer is,” Skye says.

Phil looks worried. “Maybe."


	3. Chapter 3

Jemma and Fitz’s enthusiasm for slayer research only grows over the coming weeks, and it is nice to have help when Phil assigns her old tomes to search through while he is at class or work. Researching with Jemma and Fitz is a lot better than doing it alone or with Phil. Phil may be only twenty, but he acts much older. Fitz and Jemma are seventeen, much closer to her age, and when she is with them their excitement and chattiness make being the Slayer feel like less of a burden. Between having the two of them to help with research, and the occasional encounters with Ward while out on patrol, Skye starts to feel at home in Sunnydale.

Living with Phil has gotten a lot less awkward too. He is still quiet, and between his classes and job he is rarely around, but he always makes sure that she has plenty of essentials like food and toothpaste. However, after a few weeks her lack of clothing becomes a problem. She was only able to bring a few things with her from LA. She has to do laundry every few days, and as the weather gets colder she wishes she had been able to bring a sweater or a jacket. One day, chilly and tired of having so few clothes, she decides to see if Phil has something that she can borrow.

She feels awkward going into his bedroom when he is not there, so she starts with the hall closet. When she had moved in, she had noticed boxes in the hall closet labeled “clothes,” and in all the time that she has lived there, Phil has never opened them. She figures that he will not mind if she borrows something. Phil is not very tall, and his shirts and sweatshirts should not be too big on her.

But when she opens the boxes, she is surprised to find that they are full of women’s clothes. She pulls out a T-shirt and sweater and tries them on. They are almost her size. Curious, Skye drags all of the boxes out of the closet and looks through them. They are all filled with clothes and shoes, enough that they must have been someone’s entire wardrobe. She wonders who they used to belong to and why they are in his closet. He has never talked about an old girlfriend, and he mentioned once that he is an only child.

She is going to ask him about it when he gets home, but as soon as he sees her, all of the color leaves his face. “Where did you get those?”

“They were in a box in the hall closet. I don’t have many clothes, so I thought I’d borrow something.”

“That stuff isn’t yours. What makes you think it’s okay for you to take it?”

Skye frowns and crosses her arms defensively. “It’s definitely not yours either, unless you can transform into a short girl. Whose are they?”

“That’s none of your business.” His voice is uncharacteristically sharp. He looks like he wants to say more, but he stops himself and takes a deep breath. “I’m going out. When I get back, I want all of the clothes you took back in the boxes.”

After he leaves, Skye pulls off the borrowed clothes and throws them back into the box. Phil may not be very warm, but he has always been calm and patient with her. Seeing him so angry leaves her feeling shaken, and she starts to cry. She does not want to sit alone in the apartment, waiting for him to come back, so she calls Jemma to meet her at the mall.

When she meets up with Jemma, Skye is still visibly upset, her eyes red from crying. Jemma offers her a sympathetic smile. “Let’s get you some new clothes. They’re having a sale at the Gap.”

As the walk over there, Skye says, “I don’t understand why he freaked out like that. I’ve never seen him so mad. And then he just stormed off. I don’t even know where he went.”

“It must have been hard for him to see you wearing her clothes,” Jemma says. “I don’t think he’s over her death.”

“Whose death? He didn’t even tell me whose clothes these were, or why he had a closet full of girl’s clothes.”

“They must be Melinda May’s.” 

“The former slayer?”

Jemma looks surprised by Skye’s confusion. “Didn’t he tell you? He was her boyfriend.”

Skye swallows and shakes her head. “He never told me.” This explains the pained look he gets whenever he mentions her, and the fact that he always refers to her as “the former slayer,” never by name. “Was it serious?”

Jemma nods. “I think they’d been together since freshman year. I always saw them together at school and around town.”

Skye is quiet for the rest of the shopping trip. When she gets back to the apartment, Phil is already there. He stares at her silently when she enters.

She holds up the shopping bags. “I bought some new stuff.” He does not respond, so she adds, “I put everything back where I found it. I’m sorry. I didn’t know about you and Melinda. Were you guys living together?”

When he finally speaks, his voice is more sad than angry. “We moved in together after graduation. She also went to UC Sunnydale.”

“So what happened to her?”

Even though he is looking in her direction, he seems to be staring at the space in front of her rather than actually looking at her. For a while Skye thinks that he is not going to answer. Finally he says, “Her Watcher was killed by some vampires. She went after them, and she never came back. I looked for her, but I couldn’t find anything. For a long time, I hoped that she was still alive, but when you showed up…”

She does not know what to say. “I’m sorry.”

Phil gives her a sad look and goes back into his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

*****

“So why don’t I ever see you on campus?” Skye asks Ward as they walk through the cemetery one night.

“I’m not a college student.”

“So what do you do all day?’

“Work.”

Skye feels guilty. Phil has been paying for her since she moved to Sunnydale. She had offered to get a job, he had said that she should focus on her training. “Right, that thing people do to make money. Where do you work?”

“I work construction. Bunch of different places around town.”

“No wonder you’re so firm - I mean in such great shape.” She hopes that he cannot see how pink she has gotten in the dark. Hastily she adds, “I mean, it’s good for fighting vampires.”

“Thanks. What’s with all the questions tonight?”

“Nothing. I just don’t know that much about you.” Every time she comes back from patrolling, Phil asks her questions about Ward, and she can never answer them.

“There’s not much to know. My family was killed by vampires. I work during the day and kill vampires at night. What about you?”

“Me? You know, the usual: I’m the chosen one. The one girl in the whole world with the power to defeat the vampires, demons, and other evil stuff.”

“What about your family?”

“Don’t have one.”

“Then where are you staying?”

“With Phil. He has an apartment a few blocks off campus.” Ward raises his eyebrows, and Skye blushes. “Not like that. He’s just my watcher.” She gestures towards the apartment. “It’s not that far actually. I’d invite you over sometime, but he’s kind of weird about guests.”

“Paranoia, a good trait for a watcher to have. He’s a little young to be a watcher, though. Shouldn’t he be older and stodgier and have a British accent?”

“He said he was studying with the former slayer’s watcher before he died.” The first time Phil mentioned it, she assumed that he had been assigned here because being a watcher was his destiny, like being a slayer was hers. Now she wonders if he somehow chose to be a watcher because of Melinda May.

Ward gives her a concerned look. “Well even if he carries the stamp of approval of the Watchers Council, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful with him. His job is to send you into danger. Like the last slayer.” As if sensing how annoyed she is becoming with him, he adds, “I’m just trying to protect you.”

Skye pauses under a streetlight. “So you don’t think I shouldn’t trust my watcher, but I should trust you.”

“I think you should be careful about who you trust, me or him. But you can trust me. I’m a soldier fighting against the forces of evil, just like you. The only difference is that you were chosen for that duty, but I’ve chosen it for myself.”

Skye smiles up at him. “Well I’m glad we’re fighting on the same side.”

*****

The next morning Skye wakes up to the smell of pancakes. She sits up and blinks sleepily. Phil is in the kitchen cooking. She has never seen him make anything more complicated than a sandwich, but he is standing in front of the stove flipping pancakes.

“Hey.”

“Morning.” He gestures at a stack of pancakes under a clean dishtowel. “Want one? They’re still warm.”

“Thanks.” She grabs a few and goes to the table where he has already set out butter and syrup. “Not that I’m complaining, but what’s with the pancakes?”

“Nothing. I had some extra time this morning.”

After he finishes cooking, he puts a few pancakes on his plate and sits across from her. They eat in silence for a while. Then he clears his throat and says, “And about the other day --”

“It’s cool. I shouldn’t have gone through your stuff.”

“Still, I shouldn’t have yelled at you. You didn’t know. And you live here now, you should be able to make yourself at home. I moved those boxes into my room, so you can use that closet from now on.”

“Thanks.” Skye is dying to ask more questions about Melinda May, but she does not know how without upsetting him. She cannot believe that Phil never mentioned that this used to be his and Melinda’s place. Now everything in the apartment makes her think of Melinda. Did they pick out the furniture together? Did they make pancakes together on weekends? Suddenly she feels like the apartment is not big enough for the two of them plus the memory of Melinda May. She decides to stick to safer topics. “You know, I can cook a few things too. My speciality is macaroni and cheese. Maybe I can cook for you sometime.”

He gives her a small smile. “”That’d be nice.”


	4. Chapter 4

A knock on the door interrupts them while they are watching a movie. Phil and Skye exchange a look of surprise. No one ever comes to visit them. Phil has warned her at least a dozen times not to invite anyone inside in case they are a vampire. Phil pauses the TV and goes to answer the door.

Skye is still looking at the TV when she hears him gasp and say, “Melinda?”

She jumps up and runs to the front door. Phil’s arms are wrapped around a small woman. His face is buried in her hair, and her face is pressed into his chest. She pulls away, and to Skye’s surprise she sees that Melinda’s face is completely expressionless. Phil, on the other hand, has tears in his eyes.

“You’re alive. I can’t believe it. I looked for you for months, but when the new slayer was activated, I gave up hope. But you’re alive.”

“I died for a few minutes, but they revived me.” Melinda looks at Skye and asks, “Is this the new slayer?”

Skye has the uncomfortable feeling that she is being sized up. She crosses her arms across her chest. “I’m Skye.”

“She’s been staying here. I’m her Watcher. I’ve been training her, the way Fury used to train you.”

“So if you’re back, does this mean I’ve been demoted?” Skye asks.

“I’m not going to be the Slayer anymore,” Melinda says.

“But it’s your destiny --” Phil says.

“I saved the world, and I died. Now I’m done. I’m just here to get my things.”

“What? But this is your home.”

“Not anymore. I’m living with my mother for now, but we’ll be leaving Sunnydale soon.”

“You’re leaving town? Where are you going?”

“We’re going to stay with my grandmother.”

“In China?” Phil looks like he is struggling not to cry. “Melinda, wait. You can’t leave. I’ve been waiting for you to come home for so long --”

Her voice is very stiff. “I need to get my things, Phil.”

He does not answer. He just stares at her, staring at her like he is going to cry. Skye cannot stand seeing him like this, and she wonders how Melinda could be so cold. “All your stuff is in his closet.” She leads Melinda into the bedroom, opens the closet door, and grabs a box. “I’ll help you.” She wants Melinda to leave as soon as possible.

It only takes a few trips to get all of her things into her car. After the return from the first load, Phil helps them, although he keeps staring at Melinda. Just before she is about to leave, he asks, “Can I call you sometime? Your mom’s number is still the same, right? I just -- I missed you so much --”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Phil. I think we should keep our distance.”

After Melinda leaves, Skye looks at Phil sympathetically. He gives her a weak smile. “She’s been through something traumatic. She’s probably still in shock. I’m sure she’ll be back.”

Skye rolls her eyes and sits down on the couch to finish watching the movie. “I’ll keep an eye out for a postcard from China.” 

*****

Skye is in trouble. Phil had warned her that she should be careful on patrol tonight, but she had refused his offer to help her. He always speaks reverently of Melinda’s abilities as slayer, and she hates that he sees her as only a novice. Now though, running through the graveyard from two vampires and a slimy looking demon, she wishes that she had swallowed her pride and said yes.

She manages to lose one of the vampires, but the other vampire and demon corner her against a mausoleum. She dodges their blows and kicks the demon hard enough that he goes flying into a tombstone. She is just congratulating herself and pulling out a stake to take care of the vampire, when the second vampire comes up behind her and grabs her.

“Poor little slayer, all alone,” he sneers.

He has his arms around her so tightly that she can barely breathe. Even though there is a stake in her hand, she cannot move enough for it to do any good. She tries to kick him to get him to loosen his grip on her, but he only squeezes tighter, and it becomes difficult to breathe. Of course soon breathing is going to be the least of her problems. He bends his head to clamp down on her neck.

But before he can touch her, he jerks back suddenly and disappears in a cloud of dust. Skye collapses to the ground, and she sees the person who just saved her leap over her body to attack the other two.

Skye is expecting to see Phil or Ward, or even Fitz and Jemma, but the person is too small and too skilled to be any of her friends. it takes a moment for her to realize that it must be Melinda May.

Dressed all in black, her moments are hard to make out in the waning moonlight. All Skye can see is a dark blur, attacking the vampire and the demon simultaneously. She manages to slay the demon, and the vampire uses the momentary distraction to flee. Melinda does not even pause before chasing after the vampire, expertly throwing her stake so that it pierces the vampire through the heart.

“You should be more careful,” Melinda says when she walks back over to Skye. She offers her and hand. “It’s dangerous to be out here alone.”

Skye ignores the offered hand and picks herself up. “Did Phil send you?”

“No.”

“Then how did you know I was here?”

“I’ve been following you.”

“Wait, you’ve been stalking me?”

“Observing you. For the last few nights.”

Skye crosses her arms. She knows that if Melinda had not been doing that, she would most likely be dead right now, but she cannot muster up the gratitude. “I thought you weren’t slaying vampires anymore.”

Melinda ignores the comment. “Phil needs to know what happened. I haven’t seen vampires hunt with demons like this since the Master died. There may be a new leader.”

“Does that mean you’re actually going to talk to him?”

Melinda stares back coldly, then turns and starts to walk away. Skye wants to ignore her, but she knows she needs her help. “Wait!” Melinda stops and looks at her. “How did you learn to do that? I’ve been working with Phil for months, and I’m nowhere near that level.”

For a second Skye thinks Melinda is going to keep walking away, but then she says, “I can show you a few things. How about tomorrow?”

“Sure. You could come over to the apartment. Phil has class all day, and then he’s working in the library until dinner.”

Melinda gives a small nod and disappears.

*****

The next morning Skye is still curled up on the couch, trying to get in a few more minutes of sleep, when Melinda comes by the apartment.

“You’re here early,” she says as she lets Melinda in. “A few minutes earlier and you would have run into Phil. Were you lurking in a bush until you saw him go to class?”

Melinda gives her a look. “We should get started. What weapons have you learned to use?”

“Bunch of things: crossbow, axe, sword. But they’re all at the library. Phil’s worried that if we practice with them here, the neighbors will freak out and call the police.”

“Fine. We’ll work on hand-to-hand combat.”

“Okay. Just let me get some coffee first.” She goes into the kitchen to pour herself a cup. “Want some?”

“I don’t like coffee.”

“Oh. I’m a serious caffeine addict. It’s the only thing that gets me out of bed in the morning.”

As Skye gets herself some coffee, Melinda pushes the couch and coffee table against the wall, clearing space for them to work.

“Need a hand?” Skye asks, but Melinda does not answer. As she drinks her coffee, she studies Melinda for the slightest hint of emotion beneath that icy exterior. Phil has been a shell of himself since her return. Whenever they train, he seems distracted, and besides school, work, and slayer business, he spends most of his time shut away in his bedroom. Skye suspects that he has been crying after she goes out on patrol. However, Melinda is as expressionless as a statue.

"So what do you want to work on?" Skye asks. "Can you teach me how to throw a stake like you did with that last vampire last night?"

Melinda shakes her head. "We need to start with the fundamentals." She takes on a defensive stance and gestures for Skye to come towards her.

Skye rushes towards her, but Melinda easily sidesteps her attack. The next several blows are similarly deflected as if Skye is moving in slow motion. Before she knows it, Melinda has tossed her down onto the ground. She extends a hand and helps her up. “Let’s try it again.”

They spar for another hour, and although Skye never manages to knock Melinda down, by the end Melinda tells her that she is doing better.

After their workout, as they drink water in the kitchen, Skye asks, “So what should I tell Phil about you?”

“Whatever you want.”

“I didn’t tell him you were coming over. He seemed pretty upset the last time he saw you.”

Skye wonders if Melinda is uncomfortable talking about Phil because she switches the topic. “How long have you been staying here?”

“A couple of months, since I came here from LA.”

“What about your family?”

“Don’t have any. I was in foster care before. That’s why Phil lets me crash with him.”

“Is he really your watcher?”

“Yeah.” May looks skeptical, which makes Skye feel defensive about Phil. “My old watcher in LA told me about him. After she died, I came here looking for him. Now that you’re back, is he’s going to be your watcher too?”

“I’m not the slayer.”

Skye is annoyed. “Then why have you been following me? And why did you come over here?”

“I wanted to help you.”

Skye sighs. “Well thanks for the help. Maybe I’ll see you around the cemetery.”

Skye expects that that will be the last time she sees Melinda May, but a few nights later she runs into her while on patrol, and they have to work together to fight off a couple of vampires. A few days later she comes over to the apartment again to train, and they make plans for her come by again the following week. 

Skye waits a couple of weeks before mentioning this to Phil. At first he is excited, although he seems disappointed when she never comes by the apartment when he is there. Still, he tells Skye that she is lucky to be able to train with Melinda. “You can learn a lot from her.”

She smiles at him. “I’ve learned a lot from you.”

“She can teach you things that I can’t. Fighting, weapons training -- things you need to know in order to protect yourself.”

She wants to reassure him that she was fine before Melinda May came back to Sunnydale, that she does not need anyone except him, but she knows that Phil is right. She just wonders how long Melinda is going to stick around.

*****

But weeks go by, and Melinda does not mention moving to China again. They settle into a routine - training after school at the apartment, followed by patrolling together at night. It is nice to have someone always watching her back, though she misses her occasional meetings with Ward. The first few times they go out together, she wonders how she will explain Ward to Melinda. Phil is still not comfortable with the idea of Ward as an ally, and Melinda seems even more cautious than Phil. But they never run into Ward on patrol, and she wonders what he is up to.

One night on patrol Skye says, “You know, you could always come with me to the library when I meet with Phil. We meet every afternoon to train and do research and stuff.”

“Phil’s not my watcher.”

“Okay, but you are back to doing your slayer duties, and as Phil likes to remind me, all the research and stuff is part of being a slayer. And I’m getting a little tired of repeating everything that Phil tells me to you every night.”

Melinda gives her a weary look. “Fine.”

Skye senses that she does not want to talk about Phil, but she uses the opening to say, “So what’s the deal with you guys anyway?

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I heard you guys were pretty serious before, but now you don’t even talk to each other.”

“Who told you that? Phil?”

“No. He’s very private.” She feels strange playing matchmaker, but she cannot help but blurt out, “But I can tell that he’s still into you.”

Sadness crosses Melinda’s face, but she shakes her head. “Things are different now,” she says as much to Skye as to herself. “


	5. Chapter 5

When Skye goes to the library the next day, she is surprised to see Melinda there.

“Melinda’s going to be joining us,” Phil says. He smiles nervously at Melinda. “I was just telling her that we’ve been researching the demon Hydra.”

“Shouldn’t we wait for Fitz and Jemma? They’ve been doing a lot of reading on that.”

“Fitz and Jemma?” Melinda asks.

“They’re my friends. I staked a vampire who was about to get them, and ever since they’ve been helping out with research.”

“You told people that you were the slayer?” Melinda gives her and Phil a disapproving look. “It’s dangerous. They could get hurt.”

“They wanted to help,” Phil says. “So far they’ve been sticking to helping me do research. Besides, you told me and I was able to help you.”

“So you weren’t sent here by the Watchers’ Council?” Skye asks.

“No. He found out I was the slayer and started working with my watcher, Fury.”

“Fury knew that I could help you, and I know that Fitz and Jemma can help us.”

Melinda does not look convinced, but before she can say anything, Fitz and Jemma arrive.

“We’ve found some really fascinating things about Hydra in that book you lent me --” Simmons stops when she notices Melinda. “You’re Melinda May, aren’t you?”

Melinda nods.

“You probably don’t remember us, but we were freshmen when you were a senior. I’m Jemma Simmons, and this is Fitz. You rescued us from a monster at the Homecoming dance."

Melinda's face is blank. "That was a gas leak."

Fitz gives a little wave. “We’ve been helping Phil out with the research. He’s had us looking into this demon called Hydra --”

“Actually it’s not just a demon, the followers are also referred to as Hydra, and they’re all sorts of creatures: demons, vampires --”

“Guys,” Phil says, “slow down. I already told Melinda all of this, so you can skip to what you found.”

“Hydra has been searching for centuries for a mystical artifact, called the Obelisk,” Fitz says.

“We were only able to find a few oblique references to it, but what we found indicates that it is an object of tremendous power, and that is rumored to control death.”

“Cheery,” Skye says. “So it like turns people into vampires or zombies?”

“It’s not entirely clear. It might be able to stop death without turning you into some kind of dark creature, or it may make such a creature invulnerable. All we know is that vampires and demons have searched the globe for it for centuries. It has never been found, but Fitz and I have reason to suspect that it may be in Sunnydale.”

Fitz cuts in. “There’s a reference to it being brought to the new world by Spanish explorers in the 16th century in order to hide it. Also it seems to be drawn to objects and areas of magical power, and the Hellmouth would certainly qualify.”

“Good work you two,” Phil says. “Keep searching for references to the Obelisk and its powers, as well as ideas where it may be hidden. If it is as powerful as it’s rumored to be, we don’t want it to fall into the hands of Hydra. Melinda and Skye will concentrate their patrols on older parts of the city, places where Hydra may be searching for this object.”

“How do we know they haven’t already found it?” Skye asks.

“We don’t. Unfortunately Hydra has been in Sunnydale for at least a year, and we still know almost nothing about them.”

“I saw this symbol on the vampires who attacked me the night I died,” Melinda says, “but I don’t remember much else.”

“I’ll keep looking for references to Hydra to try to figure out what else they might be after, but for now the rest of you should focus on the Obelisk. It’s the only lead we have.”

After the meeting, Phil hangs back to talk to Melinda. “Thank you for coming today.”

She nods. “How are you?”

He gives her a small smile. “Fine. How are you? Are you going to come back to school, or -?”

“I’m not sure. I’m working at that diner on Pacific.”

Phil smiles fondly. “That place has great pancakes.”

Melinda looks wistful. “And black and white milkshakes.” They are silent for a while, and then she asks, “How is it having Skye stay with you?”

“Okay. It’s a little crowded, and I feel bad that she has to sleep on the couch. Plus I'm not around much since I had to pick up extra shifts at the library to cover her expenses. But so far she hasn’t complained. I mentioned going to social services, but she begged me not to. She said she’s been in too many crappy foster homes to trust them.”

Melinda frowns. “There has to be another option.”

“I’m open to suggestions. I thought about asking my mom to help, but she doesn’t know anything about the slayer. Maybe it’s selfish, but I don’t want to put her in danger.”

“It’s not selfish. You want to protect her from all this. Maybe I can help find some place Skye can stay.”

*****

The knock on the door comes as Skye and Phil are cleaning up dinner. Skye goes to the door and peers through the peephole. “There’s a woman out there, but I don’t recognize her.”

“Don’t open it,” Phil warns. “I’ll be there in a second.” He puts the pot he has just cleaned in the drying rack and wipes his hands on his pants. He looks puzzled when he peers through the peephole, but he promptly opens the door.

“Ms. May. Hello.”

“Phil.”

“Melinda isn’t here.”

“Of course she isn’t. She’s at home.”

“Yes. Of course. Is everything okay with Melinda?”

“I’m here to talk about Skye.”

Skye has been silently observing Ms. May, but when she hears her name, she asks, “What about Skye?”

“Are you going to let me in, or do we have to discuss this in the hallway so all the neighbors can hear?”

“Yes. Sorry about that. Please, come in.” Phil hastily steps back to let her in, and gestures to the couch. “Why don’t you have a seat?”

Ms. May remains standing. “My daughter tells me that you are living here, Skye.”

“I don’t have any place else to stay.”

“And that you do not go to school.”

“I dropped out. Plus, you know, saving the world is pretty time consuming.”

Ms. May frowns. “This is unacceptable. You’re a child, and you need to be living in a real home. What must people think, you living with a twenty-year-old boy?”

Skye has actually wondered that many times, but maybe it has not occurred to Phil because he turns red.

“Skye sleeps on the couch. Nothing’s happened between us --”

Ms. May ignores him. “Get your things. You’ll come live with me and Melinda. There’s a spare bedroom where you can sleep.”

Skye looks at Phil. On the one hand, she likes living with Phil, and she does not know this woman. On the other hand, it would be nice to have a bedroom, not to mention a bed.

Phil nods. “It’s okay Skye. You should go with her. You’ll be safe there.”

Ms. May gives them an impatient look, and Skye and Phil hurry to pull all of her things together. She has significantly more than when she arrived, and they pack the rest in empty grocery bags.

“On Monday we’ll contact social services, and I’ll get myself assigned as your guardian. Then you can enroll in school.”

“School?” Skye complains.

Phil shoots her a look. “You’ll go to Sunnydale High. Jemma and Fitz go there.”

“You need an education,” Ms. May says.

Skye wants to point out that Melinda has still not re-enrolled in college, but Phil gives her another look.

“Thank you for doing this, Ms. May,” Phil says.

“When Melinda told me about Skye’s situation, I had to do something.” She picks up some of Skye’s things and goes downstairs. Phil and Skye follow.

After they load everything into the car, Phil says, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Come by the library at the regular time to train.”

“Okay.” She gives him a hug. “Thanks for letting me crash with you.”

“Of course.” He smiles, but he looks a little sad, and Skye wonders if he will be lonely living by himself again.

*****

Staying with the Mays is a lot different than staying with Phil. True to her word, Ms. May enrolls Skye at Sunnydale High on Monday as soon as they are done meeting with child protective services.

“Skye!” Jemma says when she runs into her and Fitz in the hall. “I can’t believe you’re really here. Where’s your locker?”

Skye fumbles with her orientation packet. “Here -- locker 107.” 

Jemma leads her down the hall. “Oh good, it’s near mine. What’s your schedule look like?”

Skye stuffs her books into the locker. “I don’t know. Sorry Jemma, but this is all kind of overwhelming. It’s been a while since I was in high school.”

“Well we can help. Fitz and I can get you oriented and help you get caught up in your classes.”

Fitz nods. “What’s it like living with Melinda May and her mother?”

Skye shrugs. “I’ve only been there for a couple of days, but so far it’s nice. They have a really nice house, and I have my own room. I didn’t see Melinda very much. We trained some this weekend, but otherwise she was in her room or working at the diner.”

“What’s her mom like?” Jemma asks.

“Is she frightening? Because sometimes we see her on the news after her trials, and she seems frightening,” Fitz says.

“She’s not frightening, Fitz! She’s a district attorney. She’s fighting for us. She’s just a little intense.”

“She seems okay. I mean she has a lot of rules, mostly about homework and not cutting school, but it’s a big step up from my other foster homes.” She drops some books off in her locker. “Anyway, I should get to class.”

“Okay. We have chemistry next, but look for us at lunch.” Jemma puts her hand on Skye’s shoulder. “And Skye? I know you have a lot of new things in your life, and you can always come to us about anything -- school, home, slaying. We want to help you.” Beside her, Fitz nods vigorously.

Skye smiles at her. “Thanks. I really appreciate it. I’ll see you guys at lunch.”

*****

After a week of staying with the Mays, Skye suggests that they all have dinner together. She has only seen Phil at the library when they are training, and he seems lonely. She wonders if he has any friends besides them.

Ms. May is big on family dinner, so Skye picks a night when Melinda and Ms. May are both working late. But when they discuss where to go, both Jemma and Fitz suggest the diner.

"They have the best burgers and milkshakes," Fitz says.

“Especially the black and white milkshakes. I haven’t had one is so long,” Jemma says.

"I'm sure Melinda doesn't want us bothering her at work," Phil says half heartedly.

Skye does not know what a black and white milkshake is, but she is dying to see Melinda in waitress mode. "Oh come on Phil. Let's go to the diner. We won’t bother Melinda. Maybe she’ll be happy to see us."

When they get there, Melinda looks more surprised than happy. “What are you doing here?” she asks when she comes over to hand them menus.

“Having dinner and visiting you,” Skye says.

Jemma and Fitz stare at their menus, and Phil looks apologetically at her. “They really wanted milkshakes,” he says.

She rolls her eyes and gives them a small smile. She is wearing jeans, a light blue t-shirt with the diner’s logo, and a black apron. “I’ll give you a minute with the menu. Would you like anything to drink besides water? Do you all want milkshakes?”

They each order a milkshake, and Phil stares at her as she walks away.

“She’s a bit terrifying as a waitress,” Fitz says, “knowing that she might be slaying vampires while she’s waiting for your order to come out.”

“I think that’s reassuring,” Jemma says. “This is the safest restaurant in Sunnydale. If the vampires decide to attack us now, she can protect us.”

“I wish she didn’t have to work the dinner shift,” Phil says. “She should be out there patrolling.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be out there as soon as I get a cheeseburger in me,” Skye says.

Phil frowns. “I don’t like you being out there alone. I can go with you.”

“Stop worrying. I’m the slayer, not a kid. Plus I kicked your butt the last time we sparred.”

Phil still looks worried, so Jemma says, “Maybe you can get Ward to go with you on nights when Melinda is working.”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” Skye says. “Besides, I don’t have a way to contact him. He just shows up sometimes.”

“That’s not suspicious at all,” Fitz says sarcastically.

“Don’t you think it’s weird that he’s never come to one of our meetings?” Jemma asks.

“He’s just busy. I haven’t seen him in a while, in fact.”

“Next time he just shows up, you should invite him to join us in the library. I’d like to finally meet him,” Phil says.

Before she can complain that he is fussing like he is her father, a voice interrupts them.

“Hey, Phil!” They turn to see a young man about Phil’s age. “I thought that was you. Shove over.”

Phil obediently slides over, so the man can slide in beside him. “Hey John. What are you doing home? How’s USC?”

“Good. I’m just visiting some friends. What about you? How’s your little girlfriend? I heard she was back in town.”

“Melinda’s fine, but she’s not my girlfriend anymore. We’re just friends.”

Melinda returns with their milkshakes, and John starts laughing. She glares at him.

“Are you ready to order?”

“Is this for real? You work here now?”

“Do you want food, or not?” Melinda asks.

The rest of them quickly order burgers and fries, but when they get to him John shakes his head. “I’m not staying. Got to meet up with a friend. I just came in to say hi to your boyfriend.”

After she leaves, Skye asks, “So how do you know Phil?”

“We went to school together. I’ve known Phil and Melinda since he was chasing after her in middle school.”

“Sorry I didn’t introduce you. This is John Garrett. John, this is Skye, Jemma, and Fitz.”

John smiles at Skye. “Nice to meet you. I think we have a friend in common. Do you know a guy named Grant Ward?”

“Yeah. You know him?”

“Yeah. I’m actually meeting him tonight. Met him up in LA my freshman year. He’s mentioned you a few times, but he forgot to say how cute you are.”

She feels herself turn pink. “I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“Well I’m meeting up with him tonight, if you want to come with. I’m sure he’d be happy to see you.”

“She has homework, and it’s a school night,” Phil says.

“Another time then.” John gets up to leave. “I should go, but I’ll let Ward know you said hi. He’s going to be sorry he missed you.”

“Yeah. Tell him I’ll catch him some other time,” Skye says.

“Count on it. And Phil, we should catch up next time I’m in town,” John says.

“Sure,” Phil says.

When Melinda returns with their orders, she asks, “Is he gone?”

“Yeah. Sorry about that,” Phil says. “I didn’t know he was back in town.”

“So he’s your old friend?” Skye asks.

“Sort of. We’ve known him for a long time, but we were never that close,” Phil says.

“Well I’d love to hear stories about little Phil chasing little Melinda around the playground,” Skye teases.

“You don’t have to get those from John,” Phil says. “Just ask Melinda’s mom.”

Melinda rolls her eyes. “Like how you cried when I couldn’t come to your sixth birthday party.”

“You were my best friend. I didn’t want to have my birthday party without you.”

Jemma sighs. “That’s adorable. How long have you two known each other?”

“Since kindergarten,” Melinda says. Normally she avoids talking about their past, but this time she smiles fondly at Phil. “We were in the same class, and we became friends right away.” She blinks a few times, then says, “I should get back to work. Enjoy your meal, and be careful tonight, Skye.”

After she leaves, Skye says, “I didn’t realize you and Melinda had so much history.”

“We’ve known each other almost our whole lives.” He takes a sip of his milkshake. “This was a good call, guys. I haven’t been here in a long time, but Melinda and I used to come here for milkshakes all the time when we were in high school.”

Skye smiles, although all the reminiscing makes her a little uncomfortable. It is another reminder that they have known each other forever and she is the interloper. “I’m glad we could all have dinner together. We haven’t seen each other much outside of training. How have you been?”

Phil gives her a small smile. “I’m fine. How about you? How are things with the Mays?”

“Okay.” Jemma looks concerned, so Skye quickly adds, “It’s good. It’s just a little weird because it’s so normal. It’s like I’ve fallen into a sitcom with an overprotective mother and a big sister. I’ve never had that. I mean, Mrs. May packs me a lunch every day, and Melinda helps me with my homework every night before patrolling.”

Phil looks relieved. “Good. You may be the chosen one, but you’re still a fifteen-year-old girl. You should have someone looking out for all of those regular teenaged girl things.”

“Well, you’re not really the Chosen One,” Fitz says. Everyone stares at him. “I mean, Melinda’s here too. So you guys are the Chosen Two. It just makes sense for you to do things together. Now you’re training together and slaying together and living together.”

Skye looks over at Melinda, who is taking orders at a table by the window. When Linda Avery had told her about being the slayer, she had always stressed that, if Skye were to get called, Skye would be the only girl in the world with these powers. The idea had been terrifying, but also exciting. But now she is the slayer, and she is not alone. She is not the only girl who can stand against the vampires and demons -- Melinda can do it too. She does not know whether she should feel comforted or disappointed. “Yeah, the Chosen Two,” she says.


	6. Chapter 6

Living with Skye is an adjustment. Melinda is an only child, and before this the only people she had ever lived with were her parents and Phil. Melinda’s mom is enjoying having another daughter, and she fusses over Skye and gives Melinda big sister tasks, like helping with her homework and driving her to school. But whenever they are alone together, Melinda struggles to know how to talk to her.The old Melinda would have known what to say to make Skye feel more at home, but the new Melinda can barely make conversation with her mother. Aside from slaying and training, she usually keeps to herself.

Still, she tries. A few weeks after Skye started living with them, when Melinda gets home from work to see her sitting at the kitchen table, eating leftovers and studying, she asks, “Isn’t there a dance tonight? I thought you’d be going out.”

“I’m not going.”

“Why not?”

Skye shrugs. “I’m not really a school dance kind of person.”

“You could give it a try. You might have fun.”

“Did you ever go to a school dance?”

“Of course.”

Skye cannot imagine quiet, unsmiling Melinda May at a school dance, but her mother’s house is filled with pictures of a very different Melinda May, a happy girl who was almost always with her best friend-turned-boyfriend Phil. “Right, I forgot that you and Phil were like prom king and queen.”

Melinda rolls her eyes. “We were never prom king and queen. We weren’t popular. But we had fun going to dances together.”

“I don’t have a date.”

“Are Jemma and Leo going?”

“Yeah.”

“So go with them.”

“I don’t have a dress.”

“You can borrow one from me.” Melinda goes into her room, and Skye follows, more because she is curious what kind of prom dress Melinda May would buy than because she actually wants to go to the dance. Melinda examines a few dresses hanging in the back, then picks one. “How about this? It should fit you.”

The dress is red, long with beaded straps and a slit up the side. Skye recognizes it from the picture of Melinda and Phil at their senior prom. They both looked happier than Skye has ever seen them.

Skye takes the dress, but she cannot resist saying, “I can’t believe you’re helping me get ready for a dance. Aren’t you going to give me a lecture on how being a vampire slayer is more important than typical teenager stuff? I can’t imagine Phil telling me I should go to a dance. He’d just give me more books to read.”

“Just because you’re a slayer doesn’t mean you can’t also been a teenager. You work hard. You deserve a night off.”

“Thanks.”

Skye ducks into her bedroom to change into the dress. When she emerges, Melinda smiles and says, “You look great.” There is something a little wistful about her expression.

They have to hurry to get her shoes and makeup ready in time for her friends to pick them up. Jemma and Fitz come to the door to get her, and when Jemma sees her, she sighs. “You look so beautiful!”

“Thanks. So do you guys.”

“Come in so I can take a picture,” Melinda says. She arranges them in the living room with Fitz in the middle, and Jemma and Skye on either side. “Have fun, and be home by midnight.”

In the car on the ride to the dance, Jemma cannot stop gushing about how beautiful Skye looks and how excited she is for the dance. 

“We’ll still have fun even though we don’t have dates,” she says brightly. “We can dance with each other, and hang out, and drink punch, and watch the other kids dance.”

“Wouldn’t you rather just hang out at my house?” Fitz asks. “We can watch a movie. My mom can make popcorn.”

“Oh Fitz. Dances are fun. They’re a high school rite of passage.”

“That’s what you said about the Homecoming Dance freshman year, and we almost died when that monster attacked the school.”

“But we didn’t die because Melinda saved us! That’s another rite of passage at Sunnydale High. And this year we have Skye with us to protect us if anything happens.”

“Or she’ll attract it, like a demon and vampire magnet.”

“Relax guys, I left my demon magnet at home. It doesn’t go with this outfit,” Skye says. She did not bring a stake with her either, and she feels a little worried. Melinda had not mentioned it. She wonders if Melinda had brought a stake with her to school dances.

Jemma does not seem worried at all. She just smiles and says, “See! We’re going to have fun tonight.”

When they get to the dance though, Fitz and Jemma gravitate towards an empty spot on the bleachers, and Skye worries that it is going to be just like school but with nicer clothes. Fitz and Jemma exist in their own little bubble, so much so that the other students refer to them as one person, FitzSimmons. With only a few exceptions, they are either ignored or mocked. Jemma acts like she does not mind, but Fitz is sullen and sarcastic when they are at Sunnydale High. Skye understands why both of them like taking their college classes and hanging out in the library with Phil.

They are only there for a few minutes though before two boys come up to them. The taller one slaps Fitz on the back.

“Hey, you guys made it,” he says.

“Jemma made me,” Fitz says.

The other boy smiles at Jemma. “Well I’m glad she did.”

“Mack, Trip, this is Skye. She’s new in school,” Jemma says. “Skye, this is Trip and Mack.”

“Nice to meet you guys.”

“How are you liking Sunnydale?” Trip asks.

“It’s cool.” Wanting to deflect questions about herself, she asks, “How do you guys know Fitz and Jemma?”

“Jemma’s my lab partner in AP bio,” Trip says. “She’s been a lifesaver this year.” He smiles at her, and Jemma blushes. 

Mack and Fitz are too deep in a conversation about video games to hear her question, so Jemma says, “Mack and Fitz are in AP physics together.”

“Are you guys talking about Call of Duty?” Skye asks. She dives into the conversation as well, and Jemma fondly rolls her eyes at them.

“Don’t play?” Trip asks.

“No. Do you?” Jemma asks.

“Yeah. It’s fun, but I didn’t come to the dance to talk about Call of Duty. Want to dance?”

Jemma turns red. “Dance? Together? Um -- sure.”

Out of the corner of her eye Skye watches Trip leading Jemma onto the dance floor. She looks both nervous and excited. Mack follows her gaze.

“Want to dance?”

“Sure. I mean if Fitz doesn’t mind.”

Fitz shakes his head. “I don’t dance.”

“Come on Fitz, we’ll all dance. It’s a fast song,” Mack says.

The three of them head to the dance floor. Fitz moves awkwardly in time to the music, but Mack is a much better dancer. Skye is having fun dancing with both of them until she feels a sharp tap on her shoulder, and a tense voice asks, “Can I cut in?”

She turns to see Ward glaring at Mack and Fitz with a startling fierceness. 

“Yeah man, no problem,” Mack says. 

Ward continues to glare at them until they take a step back and leave the dance floor. As he leaves, Fitz gives Skye a confused look.

“What was that? Skye asks.

Ward takes her hand. “May I have this dance?” The tension is gone from his voice, and his face is sweet and earnest. The inexplicably angry Ward from a moment ago has gone, to be replaced with the normal, sweet Ward that Skye is used to.

Skye pulls her hand away. She is still annoyed at how he had chased her friends away. “What are you doing here?”

“You mentioned that you had a school dance coming up, but you didn’t have a date. I thought I’d surprise you. Are you surprised?”

“Shocked,” Skye says. She is pretty sure that she had told him that she was not going to the dance and did not want to go, and that he was weirdly insistent that she should. Still, there is something classically romantic about this, like something out of an 80s romantic comedy. “You didn’t need to do this. But as long as you’re here.” 

She takes his hand, and Ward grins. The music shifts to a slow song, and Ward wraps his arms around her. They sway together slowly to the music. Slow dancing always seemed boring, but wrapped in Ward’s arm, it feels like magic.

“Your hands are cold. Are you cold?” she asks.

“A little. Better now that I’m close to you.”

“Good,” Skye says. He is very tall, tall enough that she can rest her head against his chest, but when she does that, he jerks away.

“Let’s get out of here,” he says.

“What? But we were dancing --”

“I know, but I don’t feel like dancing anymore.” He takes her hand. “Let’s go someplace more private and talk.”

“I don’t think I should leave.” She looks over her shoulder where Fitz and Jemma are sitting on the bleachers with Mack and Trip. “I’m here with my friends, and I shouldn’t just run off.”

“Oh come on, we won’t be gone that long.”

She does not want to abandon Fitz and Jemma, but they look like they are having fun, and it is still early. “Maybe just for a minute.”

They find an empty classroom not far from the gym. Skye takes a seat on top of one of the desks, with her feet resting on the chair. Ward stands next to her so close that they are almost touching.

Being so close to him makes her a little nervous, and she instinctively fills the air with conversation. “I’ve barely seen you the past couple months. How are you?”

“We saw each other the other day. When you told me about the dance.”

“I know. But besides then, it’s been a long time since we patrolled together.”

“Sorry about that. I’ve been busy with some things. Besides, you have Melinda now to patrol with. How is it, now that she’s back? And you’re living with her too, right?”

She shrugs. “It’s okay.” The truth is that she does not know how to describe Melinda exactly. Despite living and training together, Melinda remains a mystery. At times she seems completely detached and unemotional. Yet other times Skye sees glimpses of the Melinda that Phil and her mother describe, someone caring and sweet.

“It must be strange having her back. Especially her and Phil.”

“They’re fine. How did you know about her and Phil?”

“My friend, John Garrett. He said they used to be obsessed with each other.”

She frowns and wonders what exactly he means by that. “Well they’re not that way anymore. They’re just focused on all the slayer stuff.”

“That’s a relief. I was worried that they were too caught up in each other to watch out for you.”

“I’m not a child,” Skye says.

“I know, but the idea of something happening to you --” Ward trails off, and he stares at her intensely.

“I can take care of myself. Really. Melinda and Phil have been fine, and they’ve been helping me out a lot. But even if they weren’t, I can do this myself.”

His dark eyes are full of concern. “You shouldn’t have to.”

“I’m the Chosen One. Kind of goes with the territory. But thanks. It means a lot that you care about me."

He leans towards her and for a second she thinks that he is going to kiss her, but he just places his hand on hers. "No matter what happens, you can count on me to protect you."

Before either of them can do something else, Jemma’s voice drifts in from the hallway. “Skye? Skye? Where are you? Are you ready to go home?”

Skye turns to Ward. “I’ve got to go. But thanks for coming to the dance.”

He smiles. “Not a problem. I’ll see you around.”

“Count on it.” She flashes him one more smile before running into the hall to find Fitz and Jemma.

*****

After Skye leaves, Melinda goes upstairs and takes out a box from the back of her closet. When she brought her things over from their old apartment, she had packed up everything that reminded her of him -- pictures of them, gifts that he had given her -- and hidden it at the back of her closet. It had been too painful to see reminders of how things used to be. But being around him, even if they are not together, is still hard. Sometimes when he looks at her, she almost feels like the old Melinda May. Other times she feels nothing like the girl she used to be, a girl who smiled easily, who did not get woken up by nightmares every night.

She pulls out the picture of them at prom. She had begged Fury for the night off, and she and her mother had spent a whole day searching for the perfect dress. She had felt like a normal teenaged girl, dancing the night away in Phil’s arms. Afterwards they had spent the night together in a hotel room. It was all so perfect, but thinking about it now makes her sad. It feels like it happened in another life, and she does not know if she will ever feel that way again.

She is still going through the box when Skye gets home. She knocks lightly and peeks her head in. “Hey, you’re up late.”

She quickly puts the photograph back inside in. “I told Mom I’d wait up for you. How was the dance?”

“Fun.” Skye gestures towards the box. “What is all of this stuff?”

“Just some old pictures and things.”

Skye sits down next to her and looks inside. She picks up a small stuffed kangaroo. “Cute. What’s his name?”

Melinda takes the kangaroo from her and smiles. "Mr. Jumpy. Phil named him. He likes kangaroos."

Skye rummages through the box and pulls out a photograph of the two of them. They cannot be older than six or seven. They are both grinning with their arms wrapped around each other. “You two have known each other forever.”

Melinda nods. "We’ve been best friends since we were five, and then when we were fourteen we fell in love. It just felt so right." She puts the kangaroo and the photograph back in the box. “And then I died.”

Skye shrugs. “You’re back now though.”

Melinda stares sadly at the box, then picks it up and tucks it away in the back of her closet. Skye makes it sound so simple, and she wonders if she is right, if maybe she can be that girl again. Maybe she could feel as safe and happy in Phil’s arms as she used to, without fears of vampires and demons making her panic. “Maybe.”

*****

When Melinda comes by the next day, Phil is alone studying. “Hi Melinda. Skye’s not here.”

“I know. I wanted to see you.”

He smiles. “Come in. Do you want something? Tea? Water?”

“No.” She closes the door behind her, but neither of them move out of the entrance. They just stare at each other awkwardly. Finally Melinda says, “You’ve been doing a good job with Skye.”

“With your help. She’s learned a lot from you.” He smiles. “I’m really glad you’re back. We need you.”

“Like you said, being the slayer is my destiny.”

This is the first time they have been alone together since she returned. So far Phil has kept things purely professional between them, but maybe the fact that she came over to see him makes him bold, because he blurts out, “I missed you so much. When I thought you were dead…”

“I missed you too.”

“Everything felt so strange without you. It didn’t feel like my life without you in it. But now you’re back, and everything feels right again.”

He is looking at her so sweetly that Melinda cannot resist leaning forward and kissing him. He pulls her into his arms and kisses her back. Their kisses grow more passionate, and they stumble into the bedroom. Phil falls back onto the bed with Melinda on top of him. When he pulls her shirt off, he sighs and smiles. “You’re so beautiful.”

She tugs at the bottom of his shirt, and he raises himself up off the bed so that she can pull it off. But as soon as his shirt is off, Melinda freezes.

Phil looks confused. “What’s wrong?”

She stares at the huge scar on his chest, several inches long right over his heart. “What happened to you?”

He glances down at it. “I guess I never told you. After you went missing, I went looking for you. I ran into a couple of vampires, and one of them stabbed me.” Hastily he adds, “But I was fine.”

“Fine? You got stabbed.”

“Yeah, but I survived. Actually, the doctors said I was really lucky. They couldn’t believe I was still alive when they brought me in. They said it was a miracle.”

Melinda is still staring at the scar, blinking away tears. Phil quickly puts his shirt back on.

“Everything is fine now. We both got hurt, but we survived, and now we’re both okay.”

Even with his shirt on, Melinda keeps staring at his chest. His scar is something out of the nightmares she had had when she had been in a coma. Over and over she had dreamed of the people she cared about dying while she was unable to save them. It had been horrible when she woke up and her mother had to tell her that Fury had really died. Now she knows that another one of those nightmares had come true. “It’s not fine. Getting hurt is part of my job. I’m the slayer. But you don’t have to be involved in any of this.”

“Yes I do. I’m Skye’s watcher --”

“You’re not a real watcher. The council can send someone else, someone with more experience.” She can see from his face how much her words hurt him, but she does not care, not if it keeps him safe.

Phil shakes his head in confusion. “I don’t understand why you’re so upset with me.”

“I’m upset because you’re throwing yourself into danger that you can’t handle. Why would you go after those vampires?”

“I was trying to find you. Fury was dead, and you were missing. I couldn’t just do nothing. And I can handle it.”

Melinda rolls her eyes. “No you can’t. You’re not a slayer.” She stands up and starts to get dressed. “Being the slayer means that my life is constantly in danger. But I never wanted you to be part of that.”

“But I want to. Even if we’re not together, I’m not going to abandon you. I care about you and Skye, and I want to help you.”

“If you want to help, stay in the library with your books. That’s what a watcher is supposed to do. Leave the vampires and the demons to me.”

“Look, I’ll be careful. I promise.” He grabs her arm. “Please don’t leave.”

She does not pull away, but she does not come any closer either. She stands very tensely, like a cat about to bolt. “I thought things could be like they were between us, but I was wrong.”

“Yes they can. I still love you.”

She shakes her head. “No. Too much has happened. I died, and you almost died because you cared too much about me. If you want to be a watcher, you can’t do that. A watcher can’t get too attached.”

“I’m never going to not feel attached to you.”

“You have to try, with me and with Skye.”

Phil lets go of her arm. “Fury said the same thing to me. He said I shouldn’t fool myself into thinking that I was your watcher. As long as I was your boyfriend, I could never be your watcher.” They stare at each other sadly for a moment. Finally Phil says, “I guess I’ll see you at the library tomorrow.”

“I’ll be there.”


	7. Chapter 7

When Jemma and Fitz meet up with Skye at her locker after school, Jemma is practically bouncing up and down with excitement. “Have you talked to Phil recently?”

“Just about slayer stuff. I see him when we meet at the library, but he’s been all business lately. Why?

“He has a girlfriend,” Fitz announces.

“We saw him talking to a girl outside the library yesterday. They were smiling a lot, and she touched his arm.”

“She touched his arm? That doesn’t mean she’s his girlfriend.”

“You should have seen them together,” Jemma insists. “And he was very bashful when we asked him about her later.”

“Does Melinda know about this?”

“We don’t think so,” Jemma says.

“We haven’t told her,” Fitz says. They look expectantly at Skye.

“What? Me?”

“Well someone has to tell her, and we thought it would be better coming from you.”

“It’s not like we’re best friends now,” Skye says. She has no idea how Melinda will react to this news. She had thought that they were getting closer, especially when she came home from the dance to find her digging through the Phil box. But a few days later Melinda had come home upset and shut herself in her room all night, and ever since then things between Melinda and Phil have been chilly. They barely speak except about slayer business, and Melinda is back to skipping meetings with the group, relying on Skye to fill her in when the go on patrol together.

“Well I’m not going to tell Melinda,” Fitz says.

“Tell me what?” The turn quickly to see her standing behind them in the hallway.

Fitz and Jemma give Skye a nervous look. She rolls her eyes and says, “They think Phil has a new girlfriend. They saw him talking to a girl outside of the library.”

“He already told me,” she says.

“He did?” Jemma and Fitz look surprised.

“Yes. Are you ready to go, Skye?”

“Yeah sure.” She stuffs a few books into her backpack. “I’ll see you guys in school tomorrow.” She follows Melinda out to her car in the parking lot. Melinda is walking so fast that she has to hurry to keep up with her. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. You just seem not okay.” Melinda does not respond, but by now Skye is used to her taciturn nature, so she plows ahead. “Is this about Phil? Because finding out your ex is dating someone new is never fun.”

“I’m not upset.”

“Okay, but it’d be understandable if you were. I mean, you two were together for a long time, and your mom told me that you guys were pretty serious. She said you were even talking about getting married.”

“That’s in the past. I’m happy for Phil.”

Despite the firmness in her voice, Skye can see Melinda’s mouth quivering like she is fighting back tears. “You don’t look happy.”

Melinda takes a deep breath and grips the steering wheel tighter. "Phil deserves to have a normal life. That’s something we’d never have. I’ll always be the slayer. If he’s found a nice, normal girl who makes him happy, then it’s for the best."

Skye is not sure when exactly she started rooting for them but she says, “You make him happy.”

“I put him in danger. I introduced him to this world.” Melinda shakes her head. “There’s a reason they don’t talk about the Chosen One and her boyfriend. It’s easier being alone.”

Skye wonders if this is true. Being with around Phil, Jemma, and Fitz make her feel less alone, but maybe Melinda is right, and involving them in the world of vampires and demons is unfair. They say that they want to help, but maybe she is just putting them in danger.

“Well you’re not alone, you know. You have me. I’m a slayer too.”

Melinda smiles.

*****

The next day Skye makes a point to be a little early to their meeting in the library so she can talk to Phil alone.

“Hey Phil. How’s it going?”

He does not even look up from his book. “Fine.”

“I heard you’ve been better than just fine lately.”

That makes him look up from his book. “What does that mean?”

“I heard you had a new girlfriend.” He does not respond, but his face turns red. “What’s her name?”

He hesitates before answering. “Audrey. She’s in my Shakespeare class.”

“And does she know about your extracurricular activities as a watcher?”

He shakes his head. There is a small smile on his face. “She’s a music major from Portland. She plays the cello.”

Skye raises her eyebrows. “Mmm, sexy.”

Phil gives her an exasperated look. “Are you just going to give me a hard time about Audrey, or was there some point to this?”

“Hey. I’m just trying to be a good friend. We haven’t talked in a while, and I want to know what’s going on in your life.”

Phil gives her a skeptical look. “I prefer to keep some things to myself,” he says before turning his attention back to his book.

She knows that she should stop prying into his personal life, but she cannot help but ask, “But what about Melinda? I mean, you guys seemed like you were getting close again, and I know you mean a lot to each other --”

His voice is uncharacteristically annoyed. “She’s made it clear that she doesn’t want us to get back together. I’m not a bad person for moving on.”

“Okay. Sorry.” 

She does not know what to say after that. He turns his attention back to his book, and an awkward silence falls between them until Fitz and Jemma arrive.

“Well, it’s not much,” Jemma says, “but we did find a reference about Hydra’s powers. The Hydra demon has tremendous regenerative powers, just like in Greek mythology.”

“Cut off one head, and two grows in its place,” Fitz interrupts.

“Right. That sort of thing. Well it seems that it has certain spells that it casts on its followers to give them similar powers.”

“Ew. So now the Hydra vampires are going to grow new heads after I decapitate them?” Skye asks.

“No, not exactly. But they are unusually strong and resilient against the usual weakness of vampires --”

“They can endure a low level of direct sunlight, and can heal rapidly if injured.”

“-- but they are still vulnerable to stakes and decapitation. They don’t actually regrow heads.”

“Good to know,” Skye says. “Anything else?”

“Hydra experiments on its followers to make them stronger. These reports that we read were from the 19th century,” Fitz says.

Jemma nods vigorously. “Who knows what powers they have accrued since.”

“What about the Obelisk? Any leads on locating it?” Phil asks.

“Not yet. There are very few texts that refer to it --” Jemma begins.

“-- and those that do are often not in English and use very oblique language,” Fitz says.

“I pulled some more books today that might have something helpful,” Phil says. “We can go through them now.” He goes into the back and returns with an armload of old books, which he drops in front of Skye.

Skye opens the top one gingerly and grimaces. “This is so creepy.”

Jemma peers over her shoulder. “I’ve seen references to this elsewhere. Touching the Obelisk seems to kill people by turning them into stone.”

“So it’s a weapon?”

“It’s more than that,” Phil says. “The Obelisk is said to have power over death, perhaps even to defeat it. It’s possible that obtaining the Obelisk will allow Hydra to create an army of indestructible followers.”

“Great,” Skye says. She flips through her book. “Well we better make sure we find this thing before they do.

But after a couple of hours, none of them have made any progress.

“I’ll go back through the shelves tomorrow and look for more books,” Phil says. “I’m still finding new things in here every day.” He sighs. “Fury knew every book in this library. I’m sure he would have found this thing by now.”

“Hey, we’ll find it,” Skye says. “Just not tonight. I have to run. I’m having dinner at the diner, and then going on patrol. You guys want to come?”

“Sorry, but we can’t. Fitz and I have a calculus test tomorrow,” Jemma says apologetically.

“Oh okay. What about you, Phil? We haven’t had dinner together in a while.”

“I have a date with Audrey.”

“Oh.” She tries not to let her disappointment show. “Well I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow then?”

Fitz and Jemma are already talking about their calculus test, but they stop long enough to say “Bye” in unison.

“Be careful out there,” Phil says. “You’ll be on your own tonight.”

“I know. I’ll be fine. Have fun on your date.”

Phil blushes a little but does not say anything as he ducks into the stacks to shelve the books they were looking at. Skye waits to see if Fitz and Jemma are walking out too, but they settle back down with their books. With a sigh she heads out alone.

*****

“Hey.”

Skye looks up from her cheeseburger to see Ward sit down on the stool beside her.

“I heard you hang out here sometimes.”

“Melinda works here,” Skye says, “and the food is good.”

“Eating alone?”

“I’m just grabbing a bite before I head out on patrol,” Skye says. She nods to where Melinda is taking a young family’s order. “Melinda’s working tonight, so I’m solo.”

“No friends? Where’s Phil?”

“Out on a date. He’s got a new girlfriend, Audrey.”

Ward raises his eyebrows. “A girlfriend, huh? Have you met her?”

“I’ve seen her around, but he’s not exactly telling her about vampire slaying or showing her the collection of weapons in the library.”

“So she’s just a regular girl?”

“Yeah. They met in one of his classes.”

Ward gives her a thoughtful look. “I guess he wants a normal life. Maybe the whole watcher thing isn’t for him.”

Skye’s eyes narrow. “It’s not like he’s abandoning us or anything,” she says. “We still meet and talk about slayer stuff.”

Ward changes the subject. “Well now you don’t have to go out alone tonight after all. I’ll go with you.”

“Thanks.” Melinda comes over, and Skye says, “Hey Melinda, this is Grant Ward, the guy I’ve been telling you about.”

Melinda gives Ward an appraising look. “You’re the guy who’s been patrolling with Skye?”

“And you’re the former slayer.”

“She’s a slayer too,” Skye says. “There’s two of us now.”

“I didn’t think that’s how it worked. I thought there was just supposed to be one.”

“I guess those prophecies weren’t prepared for modern medicine,” Melinda says. She gives Skye a look, and Skye shifts a little uncomfortably.

“Anyway, Ward’s going to keep me company on patrol tonight.”

Melinda looks back and forth between them. “Be careful,” she says to Skye.

Ward though is the one to respond. “I’ll take care of her.” Once Melinda is gone, he turns to Skye and says, “Ready to go?”

“Yeah, but do you want to get something to eat first? The burgers and milkshakes are good.”

“I already ate.” He stands. “Come on. We want to get out there soon.”

Skye looks to see where Melinda is, but she is busy with a customer, so all she can do is wave goodbye.

In the car on the way to the cemetery, Skye asks, “What did you mean about Phil not wanting to be a watcher?”

Ward shrugs. “Well he’s not really the typical watcher. He’s really young, and he hasn’t really been trained, has he?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Taking you on is a lot of responsibility, maybe more than he realized when he said yes.”

“It sounds like you don’t trust him.”

“I don’t trust this whole watcher system. It’s so archaic. All of these rules and rituals, some stodgy guy poring through old books and giving you orders. I’ve gotten by just fine without any of that.”

“Yeah, well I’m not like you. I know you’re the lone wolf type, but I like working as part of a team.”

Ward gives her a skeptical look. “How much of a team are you though? At the end of the day, you’re the one they’re sending out to face the vampires alone.” He smiles at her. “But not tonight. I’ll be here to protect you.”

*****

Skye says that everything is fine, but over the next few days Melinda notices a subtle shift in her behavior. Instead of filling up the space between them with a constant stream of chatter, Skye is quiet and withdrawn. Melinda can tell that something is bothering her, but she does not know what to do to help her. She would talk to Phil, but since her visit to his apartment, things have been unbearably awkward between them. He has been keeping his distance, especially since he started dating Audrey, and she wonders if this is the first step in Phil trying to resume a normal life. If that is the case, Skye will be her sole responsibility now, and she is not sure whether that thought makes her feel more alone or less.

Melinda is about to get into bed when she hears the doorbell ring. It is after midnight, too late for casual visitors. Whoever it is must be frantic because they keep pressing the button over and over again. Melinda grabs a stake and heads downstairs. When she gets into the hallway, she sees Skye coming out of the bathroom, still holding her toothbrush, and she falls into line behind Melinda. 

She peers through the peephole, then steps back and throws the door open. “Phil?”

Phil is pale and visibly shaking. Skye has never seen him so upset. “She’s gone.”

“Who’s gone?” Skye asks.

“Come in.” Melinda takes a long look outside to make sure he is not being followed. 

“Audrey.”

“Let’s go into the kitchen. I don’t want to wake up Mom,” Melinda says quietly.

“Too late.” The three of them look up to see Ms. May standing at the top of the stairs. She wraps her robe around her and walks down the stairs. “Phil. What are you doing here at this hour?”

“Sorry Ms. May. I know it’s late, but I need Melinda and Skye’s help.”

Ms. May nods. “Come into the kitchen, and I’ll make some tea.”

While Ms. May makes tea, Skye grabs and bag of cookies and dumps them on the table. “So what happened?”

“Audrey’s been practicing late the past few nights. She has a big concert coming up. I’ve been walking her back to her dorm, but when I came to pick her up tonight, she was gone. The room was a mess, like there had been a struggle. Her cello was lying on the ground. She would never leave her cello like that.” 

“Where do you think she is?” Skye asks.

“I don’t know. I didn’t seen any evidence of demon activity.”

“We can go back and look for clues. Is there a way to get into the music rooms this late?” Skye asks.

He hands her Audrey’s student ID. “Audrey’s ID gives her access 24 hours a day. She gave it to me when I dropped her off so I could get back in.”

“We’ll let you know what we find,” Melinda says.

They do not realize that Ms. May is still listening to them until she asks, “This girl, does she have any enemies?”

“What?” Phil shakes his head. “No. She’s a regular girl. She doesn’t have any enemies. I mean she used to have problems with this guy, Marcus Daniels, but he dropped out of school a couple months ago.”

“Problems?”

“He was obsessed with her. He came to all of her concerts and hung around outside her dorm. Eventually she got a restraining order. She hasn’t seen him seen then.”

Ms. May looks worried. “Normally the police will not investigate a disappearance until the person has been missing for 48 hours, but I will talk to my contacts at the police department tomorrow morning. They might know where this Marcus Daniels is.”

“Thank you,” Phil says. 

She gets up. “Don’t stay up too late, and be careful,” she says before she goes back upstairs.

“Skye and I can walk you home before we go to campus,” Melinda says.

He shakes his head. “No. I’m coming with you.” 

They stare at each other for a moment, waiting for the other one to cave. Finally Melinda sighs. “Fine. Wait for us down here.” She and Skye run upstairs to change and grab weapons. They are only gone a few minutes, but when they get downstairs Phil is pacing anxiously.

“Ready?” Phil asks, and they both nod.

Skye wonders how they must look to the security officer sitting at the entrance to the music hall - two young women and a young man coming by in the middle of the night - but the man barely looks up from his computer monitor after Phil swipes them in.

This time of night there is almost no one there. The building is dark, and as they walk down the hall and trigger the sensors, the lights flicker to life. Phil leads them to the practice room where Audrey had been. Just as he described, the room is a mess. Her music stand and instrument are toppled over onto their sides, and her sheet music is strewn about the room.

Melinda and Skye immediately get to business, searching the room for clues. Phil walks over to put her cello back in its case. Her cell phone is lying on the ground nearby next to her toppled music stand. He picks it up, and a second later the sound of her playing fills the room.

“What is that?” Skye asks coming over to him.

“Her phone. She used to record her practice sessions and listen to them later.”

The music is very beautiful. Melinda does not know enough about classical music to recognize the piece, but Phil has a sad, dreamy look on his face as he listens to it. The music goes on for a while - Skye grabs the phone from Phil and speeds through it - but finally they hear the door open and the music stops. 

A woman’s voice, clearly frightened, asks, “What are you doing here, Marcus?”

“I came to get you. Like I promised.”

“You’re supposed to stay away from me.”

“I can’t. I need you. You’re the only one who understands me. The only one who can help me.”

“I’ll scream.”

He laughs. “The room’s soundproof. Scream all you want.”

There is a sound of a struggle. Audrey screams, and Phil closes his eyes as if he cannot bear to hear. A few minutes later, the room is silent. He turns off the recording.

“So Marcus Daniels took her,” Skye says. “Do you know where he might be?”

Phil shakes his head. “He was living in a dorm before he dropped out. We hadn’t seen him since then. We thought he had left town.”

Melinda places her hand on his arm. “We’ll take the tape to the police so they’ll start investigating. You should go home and get some rest.” She hates how upset he looks. She wishes she knew what to say to comfort him. “We’ll drop you off at your apartment on the way to the police station.”

Phil nods, then picks up the cello case. “We can’t just leave it here. Audrey would be so upset if something happened to it.”

Skye helps him wrestle the instrument into its case. “It’s okay. You can keep it safe for her until they find her.”

*****

Phil stares at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Even though he knows that the Sunnydale Police will be looking for Audrey, he cannot stop feeling like he should be doing something. The sound of her screams keeps echoing in his mind. He had never thought that Daniels would go this far, and he wonders if he should have done more for her.

Phil had noticed Marcus almost immediately after he and Audrey started spending time together. At first he thought it was his imagination, but he was everywhere - outside of her classes, the library, the music hall, her dorm. When he had asked Audrey about him, she had hesitated before admitting that she and Marcus had lived in the same dorm the year before. Everyone had teased him because he was poor and had to work as a janitor to cover tuition, and Audrey had tried to be nice to him. However, Marcus had mistaken her friendliness for love and developed an unhealthy obsession with her. No matter how many times she rejected his advances, he never stopped following her around.

Phil sits up in bed and turns on the light. Audrey always suspected that Marcus had been able to track her because he knew the campus better than most students from working as a janitor. He wonders if there is somewhere on campus that he could have taken her. Steiner Hall has been under renovation for the past two years, and because of conflicts with the construction company, they have had to halt work several times. If he had a way to get inside, it would be the perfect place on campus to hide.

He wonders if he should call the police, but he does not have a lot of faith in them. It had taken several complaints before they even took Audrey’s problems with Marcus seriously. Besides, he has faced vampires and demons. He can certainly face one lonely stalker.

He pulls on some clothes and stuffs a crossbow into his backpack. He has never fought a person before and has no intention on using the weapon against a person, but he can at least use it to scare Marcus. If there are any problems he can call the police, but he does not want to have to wait for them to get her back.

*****

The sound of the doorbell forces Melinda awake. She blinks and stares at the clock. 6 AM. It is just after dawn. The person outside keeps pressing the doorbell over and over again, and Melinda runs downstairs, hoping to answer the door before her mother. She assumes it must be Phil, desperate to go looking for Audrey himself.

But it is not Phil. Instead the visitor is a slim girl with long brown hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. She looks frantic, and she keeps glancing around nervously.

“Are you Melinda May?” she asks.

“Yes. Who are you?”

“I’m Audrey. Phil told me to find you.” Her face crumbles. “He tried to get away, but they captured him.”

Melinda’s whole body goes cold. She gestures for Audrey to come inside. “Who did?”

“Hydra.”


	8. Chapter 8

Ms. May makes another pot of tea as the three of them sit around the kitchen table. Audrey is shaking, and Skye keeps patting her arm.

Melinda sits across from Audrey. Outwardly she looks calm, but she has to fight to keep from crying. She has gone up against demons and vampires so many times, but it is harder with Phil in danger. She feels responsible for his kidnapping. Fury was right, she should never have let him into her world. She did everything she could to keep him safe, but it was still not enough. But dwelling on that now is not going to get Phil back. “What happened?” she asks.

“Marcus came into the practice room while I was playing. He placed a rag over my mouth, and when I breathed in, I passed out. When I came to, I was tied up inside one of the empty dorm rooms in Steiner Hall.”

“Where’s that?” Skye asks.

“On the north edge of campus. It’s being renovated, so it was completely empty.” She takes the mug that Ms. May offers her, but she does not drink any. She just holds it in both hands. “He told me that he didn’t want to hurt me. He said that he would protect me, but that Hydra wanted answers.”

Melinda looks even more concerned. “Answers about what?”

“Phil.” She shakes her head. “Two more of them came in and started asking lots of questions about him. They wanted to know what I knew about his friends or his past or his surgery.”

“What surgery?” Skye asks.

“He has a big scar on his chest.” She draws a long vertical slash across her own chest. “He told me he got stabbed by a mugger.”

Skye gives Melinda a questioning look, and Melinda gives her a small nod.

“Did you tell them anything else?” Skye asks.

Audrey shakes her head. “I didn’t understand most of what they were talking about. They kept saying that Phil had information that Hydra wanted, but I don’t know what that is. I’m still getting to know Phil. We’ve only been dating for a month.”

“It’s okay, Audrey. You’re safe now,” Skye says. “You can stay here if you want while Melinda and I go look for Phil.”

“You’re going after him? Shouldn’t we call the police?”

“We can handle it,” Melinda says.

Audrey looks at Melinda cautiously. “Are you the slayer?”

Melinda is startled by Audrey’s question.

“Did Phil tell you about that?” Skye asks.

“No, but the people who were holding me kept asking me about the slayer. I told them I didn’t know what that was. And then they said, ‘Your boyfriend has been keeping secrets from you.’” She grips her mug tighter. “What’s a slayer? Is that why they took me and Phil? I know you two used to be involved.”

Skye looks at Melinda, as if unsure of how to respond. Melinda says, “Skye and I are both slayers. We fight vampires and demons. Phil helps us, gives us guidance and training.”

Melinda worries that she will not believe them, but Audrey just gives a small nod. “I saw some things when I was in there. The people who took me… some of them were monsters. But I didn’t say anything because I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me.”

“We believe you. And we know how to handle them.”

Ms. May has been listening to them silently, but when Melinda says that, she nods and says, “Go. Get Phil. I’ll stay here with Audrey.”

For just a second, Melinda’s composure wavers. She remembers the pain and relief in her mother’s eyes when she woke up in the hospital, and she wonders how her mother can be strong enough to send her only daughter into danger so many times. But when she looks at her mother, she does not see any of the worry or fear that must be running through her mind. She tries to be strong like her mother, and mask her own fear and self-doubt behind a shaky smile. “Thanks, Mom. Skye and I will be back with Phil as soon as we can.”

*****

When Phil regains consciousness, he finds himself tied to one of the beds. He tests the restraints that are wrapped around his ankles and wrists, but they are tied tight. As he strains against them, the ropes dig painfully into his skin.

“Careful. We wouldn’t want you to get hurt,” a voice says from the doorway. He twists his neck until he can make out the figure of a young woman wearing a flower dress.

“Of course not. I mean kidnapping me, drugging me, and tying me to this bed was all to protect me. Who are you? What do you want from me?”

“I only want to help you uncover the truth.”

“The truth? The truth about what?”

She moves so that she is hovering above him and presses her hand against his chest, right over his scar. “You died. Or at least you should have. The vampire’s knife went straight through your heart. And yet you are still here. I need to know how you survived.”

“How do you know about that?”

“We know a great deal about you, Phil. The only thing we don’t know is how you survived.”

“The doctors at Sunnydale General --”

She shakes her head. “You don’t believe that. You know that there’s more to your survival than the skillful work of a surgeon.”

Phil looks down. He tries not to think about that night. He has blocked out most of what happened that night, but he still remembers lying in the cemetery, overwhelmed with pain, knowing that he was going to die. 

But he did not die. When he woke up in the ICU days later, his mother had grasped his hand and declared that it was a miracle, his father looking out for him from heaven. The doctors at Sunnydale General had smiled when they heard her say that, but they could not give him a better explanation. They had tried to play it off as just a medical mystery, but he had caught the doctors and nurses whispering about him when they thought he did not notice.

He looks back up at her. “Who are you?”

“My name is Raina.”

“Why are you working with Marcus Daniels?”

“I’m not working with him. Marcus has his own reasons for working for Hydra. As do I.”

“And what would that be?”

“There is ancient, powerful magic in this world. Most of it has been lost, or hidden away in the name of protection. I want to uncover that magic. After all, if you could use magic to save someone from death, wouldn’t you?” When he does not respond immediately, she adds, “Of course you would. You know how painful it is to watch the life slip away from someone you love.”

Phil squeezes his eyes shut. If remembering his own near-death experience is painful, remembering his father’s death is unbearable. “How do you know all of this?”

“The Clairvoyant told me. He knows a lot about you, Phil. The only thing he doesn’t know is how you survived.”

“I told you that I don’t know. If this Clairvoyant really is psychic, he should know that.”

“That doesn’t matter. The truth is within you. Even with the glamour on you, I can see hints of the truth shining through. If you let me remove it, then we can both know the truth.”

He has to admit that he is curious. He only knows of a few vague references to spells powerful enough to cheat death, but the details have long been forgotten. His mother may believe that it was a miracle, but he does not believe in miracles. However he does believe in magic. “What do I do?”

Raina moves towards the bed and unfastens the ties. He sits up and rubs his wrists. 

“Aren’t you afraid I’m going to run?”

She gives him a knowing smile. “You won’t. Not without answers.”

*****

“They must have kidnapped Audrey to get to Phil,” Skye says as they walk to campus. “But how did they know about her? And what do they want with him?” Melinda is silent. “She said that they asked about him getting hurt, but why would Hydra care about that?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Melinda says. 

Skye cannot shake the feelings that Melinda knows more than she’s letting on. “Do you know anything about this?”

“We can worry about why this happened later. Right now we need to focus on getting Phil back.”

“How? They’ll be expecting us since Audrey escaped, and they might have moved him since then.”

“It’s daytime. They can’t have gotten far. We’ll go back to Steiner Hall and look for a way in.”

But when they get there, it is completely sealed up. Audrey had escaped through a side door on the first floor, but now it is padlocked shut. Melinda tries to pry open one of the windows, but this draws the attention of one of the security guards.

“Is there a problem Miss?” he asks warily.

Melinda does not say anything, so Skye says, “We need to get inside. I think I left something in there the other day.”

The guard’s eyes narrow. “This building has been locked for months. Do you even go here? Where’s your ID?”

Skye looks nervous and takes on a defensive stance, preparing to fight the guard. Before she can do anything though, Melinda grabs her arm and drags her away. When Skye looks back at him, he is staring at them, but then he shrugs and heads in the other direction.

“I was going to handle it,” Skye says.

“How? Beat up a human in broad daylight?”

Skye pulls away and glares at her. “We have to do something. Who knows what Hydra’s doing to Phil right now.”

Melinda stares back at her. “We’ll get him back. But we have to find another way in.” She turns and marches towards the library.

*****

It takes a while for Raina to return with a cauldron full of spell ingredients. As soon as she leaves him alone, Phil tries the door only to find it locked. His curiosity may have been piqued by what she said, but he still does not trust her. If he does carry the secret of such strong magic within him, he is not about to let that information fall into the hands of Hydra.

When she finally returns though, he lets her think that he is going along with her plan.

“What do you need me to do?” he asks.

“Just sit back on the bed. I need to brew a potion to remove the glamour.”

As she works, Phil asks, “So you’re a witch? How did you get recruited by Hydra?”

“It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. They were looking for someone with certain skills, and they provided me with opportunities that I wouldn’t otherwise have.”

“Like the opportunity to perform magic on kidnap victims.”

“On people whose true nature is being hidden. What is your true nature, Phil Coulson?”

Something about the words triggers something in his mind. “Is that how you think I survived? I was transformed into something else?”

“Perhaps.” Raina throws one last ingredient into the cauldron, and a thick purple smoke pours from it. “Now breathe deeply, and let all be revealed.”

He wonders if he can somehow only pretend to breathe in the smoke - certainly the fluorescent purple smoke does not look like something that he should inhale - but he can only hold his breath for a minute or two before his lungs are screaming for air. He takes in a deep breath, and then everything goes black.

*****

They are pouring through old maps of the campus, searching for another way into Steiner Hall, when Audrey knocks on the door and sticks her head in.

“Hi. Do you guys have a minute?”

“Is everything okay?” Skye asks. “Is Melinda’s mom okay?”

“Everything’s fine. I just couldn’t sit around the house not doing anything, and your mom said you were probably here. I’ve been going over everything that happened over and over again, and I thought maybe something there could help you.” She looks around the library basement. “Phil said he was always here because of his campus job.”

“He does work here,” Skye says, “but it’s also where we meet to talk about slayer stuff.”

Audrey shakes her head. “Ever since you told me, I’ve been going over everything that Phil has said and done -- knowing now… ” she trails off.

“There was something you wanted to tell us?” Melinda prompts.

“Yes. When Phil and I were escaping, I thought we were going to both make it out, but then some monsters came out of nowhere. Is that something that they can do?”

“Where were you exactly?” Melinda asks.

Audrey peers over Melinda’s shoulder at the map spread out in front of her. “I think we were here, on the first floor, heading towards the south exit.”

Skye looks at the maps in front of her. “Looks like there’s an entrance to the maintenance tunnels right about there. That must be how they seemed to appear out of nowhere.”

“Marcus used to work as a janitor, and he’s very familiar with the maintenance tunnels. Do you think that’s how they got into Steiner?”

Melinda nods. “Probably, and we can use those tunnels to get back inside. The library doesn’t connect, but there’s an access point under the science building.”

“Thanks Audrey,” Skye says.

“I should be thanking you. I don’t know what I would have done without you.” She hesitates, then adds, “Phil’s talked a lot about both of you. I know how much he cares about you.”

Skye looks at Melinda, wondering how she feels about trying to save her ex-boyfriend with the help of his new girlfriend. But Melinda’s expression remains stony, but Skye knows her well enough to know that she must be upset. “You should go back to my house. You’ll be safe there. We’ll meet you back there after we get Phil.”

*****

_He is in the cemetery with two vampires chasing after him. He turns and fires the crossbow at one, and he disappears in a cloud of dust, but the second uses that opportunity to knock him to the ground._

_Before Phil can react, the vampire picks him up by the throat and stares at him. Phil is face to face with the mark of Hydra branded on his forehead. He grins at Phil. “I know you. You’re the human boy who tags along after the slayer. Her little pet.”_

_Fear is replaced by rage. He struggles against the vampire. “Where is she?” he gasps._

_“In a better place. You’ll see her soon.”_

_He pulls his arm back and thrusts a knife into Phil’s chest, then lets him fall to the ground. Somehow Phil manages to stay on his knees. His hands scramble for the crossbow. He grabs it and manages to get off one shot right through the vampire’s heart before he falls face first onto the ground. The pain in his chest is incredible, and yet somehow he stays awake, forcing one painful breath after another._

_Images flash before his eyes: blood dripping into a cauldron, Melinda’s pale face, Fury picking her up._

_“I hope it’s worth it.”_

_“He is.”_

“What did you see?”

Raina’s voice jolts him back to reality. He opens his eyes to see her staring eagerly down at him.

“What did you see?” she asks again.

“Nothing,” he lies. “It was all dark.”

She frowns. “With the glamour gone, you should have been taken back to the moment when you died.”

“Yeah, I saw that,” he lies. “The vampire stabbed me, and I fell down. I could hear the ambulance’s siren, and then the doctors taking me to surgery. My mother was crying.”

“None of that is helpful,” she snaps. She turns back to her spellbook. “There must be another way,” she mutters.

While she is distracted, Phil tries to get off the bed, but he is so weak and disoriented by the spell that he just falls onto the floor.

Raina whirls around to face him, a knife in her hand. Without warning she grabs his wrist and slashes a deep cut across his palm, then holds his hand tightly over a jar so that his blood drips into it. Throughout the whole procedure, she never loses her serene expression. “You may not have seen anything, but your blood will reveal the truth.”

A noise in the hallway distracts her, and Phil pulls away from her and clutches his bleeding hand to his chest. The sounds of a fight get closer, and Phil smiles. “Sounds like your friends are having a little trouble out there.”

Raina moves towards him with the knife. “Or perhaps I don’t need your blood to show me the truth. Perhaps I should see for myself what magic keeps you alive.”

But before she can reach him, the door swings open, revealing Melinda and Skye. Melinda knocks Raina down with a single punch as Skye rushes to his side.

“Are you okay?”

“Fine. Where’s Audrey?”

“She’s safe. She’s back at Melinda’s house. We have to get you out of here. We took care of a few of them, but there are more coming.” Skye glances at Raina’s unconscious body. “Who is she? Is she a demon?”

“She’s a witch.” He knows that they should do something with her, but witch or not, she is still a human. He remembers what she said about his father, and he wonders if she is doing this to save someone she loves.

He glances at Melinda. She is pale and shaken, and there are tears in her eyes. He wants to hold her and comfort her, but something stops him. The things he saw while under Raina’s spell are still swirling through his mind. Even though he does not understand them, he knows that Melinda had something to do with how he survived, and perhaps more disturbing, she has been keeping this from him.

“Let’s get out of here,” he says.

Melinda gives a quick nod and leads them out of the building with him and Skye close behind.

*****

After they leave the May house, Phil and Audrey go back to his apartment. When they get there, he invites Audrey inside and they sit down on the couch facing each other. Neither of them speak at first. Then finally Phil says, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I’m glad you are. I was so worried about you.”

“Melinda and Skye took care of Marcus. He won’t bother you anymore.”

Audrey nods. “So this is your life.” Phil is not sure if it is a statement or a question. “Fighting vampires and demons… doing magic… ”

“I only know a little magic,” he says. “And yes. Melinda and Skye have a destiny, a duty to protect people, and I want to do whatever I can to help them.” 

Audrey nods and gives him a sad smile. “You always want to help. You were so good when I was dealing with Marcus. You made me feel safe.”

He takes her hand. “I feel terrible that you were put in danger because of me. I never wanted that to happen. I thought if you didn’t know about this, you’d be safe.”

“You made me feel safe. But now… all of this… vampires and demons…” She trails off, and he squeezes her hand.

“It’s a lot, I know. Sometimes I wish things were different, and I could go back to a normal life.” It is hard to admit, even to himself, just how tempted he had been by the promise of a normal life. With Melinda back, some part of him had thought that maybe he could leave Skye under her care and go back to being a normal college student. However, after being kidnapped by Hydra, he knows that he will never be just a normal person. “But --”

Audrey gives him a sad smile. “I know you well enough to know you’re never going to stop helping them. And as long as you are, I can’t… ”

He nods and lets go of her hand. “I’m sorry, Audrey.”

“Me too.” She looks sadly at his bandaged hand. None of them had wanted to explain his injury at the hospital, so Melinda’s mom had taken care of it. She has had plenty of experience treating Melinda’s injuries over the years. “Take care of yourself.”

“I will. And if you ever have any other problems like this, you can always come to us.”

She gives him a small smile. “I know. You’re the good guys.”


	9. Chapter 9

Jemma leans over and pokes Skye, who is snoozing in her chair. “Skye, Skye,” she hisses.

The teacher notices Jemma before Skye does, and snaps, “Skye!” Skye jerks awake and looks around, confused. The teacher glares at her. “I hope my class isn’t interrupting your nap.”

She looks embarrassed as the other students snicker. “Sorry.”

“Are you okay?” Jemma whispers as soon as the teacher returns to her lecture.

“Yeah. Just tired.”

“Late night patrolling?”

“Yeah. We ran into a vampire last night, and she knocked me down and almost got away. Melinda made me go over the whole fight again to show me what I did wrong. I barely got any sleep.” The bell rings, and as they walk to their next class, Skye continues complaining. “And it’s not just last night. Between training and patrolling, Melinda and Phil have me booked every second I’m not in school, and Ms. May is always hounding me about my homework. It’s like I have three parents, and that’s three too many.”

“That sounds frustrating,” Jemma says sympathetically.

“Seriously. I just need a break. Besides that vampire last night, there hasn’t been a lot of demon activity since we rescued Phil. I deserve a night off.”

“That would be fun. We could have a girls night.” Skye gives her a confused look, and Jemma says, ”You know: watch romantic comedies, bake cookies, and eat ice cream.”

“I’ve never had a girls night, but that sounds like just what I need.”

When she asks Phil and Melinda about taking a night off though, they both refuse. Skye rolls her eyes. “Come on! I’ve had to patrol alone or with Ward when Melinda’s working at the diner. Can’t I take one night off?”

“That’s not going to happen again,” Melinda says. “It’s too dangerous. From now on, we stick together.”

“This is your duty,” Phil says. “You have to take your slayer responsibilities seriously.”

She knows how whiny she sounds, but she cannot help herself. “You guys are being ridiculous. You’ve been on high alert since we rescued Phil and dusted Marcus Daniels. I’d call that a win, or is there something you’re not telling me? Some reason we need to be on high alert all the time?”

Phil and Melinda awkwardly avoid her gaze. Phil says, “You need to patrol, but if you’re feeling that burned out, you can take tomorrow off from training.” He looks at Melinda for approval, and she nods in agreement.

“Thanks.” It is a small concession, but she is excited for her first free Saturday in a long time. “It’s almost like I’m a regular teenager.”

“Almost,” Phil says.

*****

“So what do you want to do?” Jemma asks when Skye calls to tell her the news. “We could go see a movie, or have a Netflix marathon. Have you ever watched Star Trek or Doctor Who?”

“I was thinking of something more outdoorsy, like going to the beach.”

“That sounds fun. I bet Fitz’s mom will pack us snacks. I should remind him to bring extra sunscreen.”

“Great. A day at the beach is exactly what I need.”

“Are you going to invite Ward?”

“Jemma!” She is glad that Jemma cannot see how much she blushes.

“What? He obviously likes you. I mean he came to the dance, and he was totally into you. You need to start inviting him to hang out instead of just assuming that he’s going to sense what you want him to do. He’s not a mind reader.”

“I could say the same thing about you and Trip.” Jemma sputters with embarrassment, and Skye laughs. “Okay, I’ll invite Ward if you invite Trip, deal? And we’ll invite Mack to keep Fitz company.”

“Deal.”

*****

Melinda is surprised to see Phil standing outside her door early in the morning. “Skye isn’t here. She’s already gone to the beach.”

“I know. I wanted to talk to you.”

She nods and steps aside to let him in. They stand awkwardly in the living room staring at each other. Melinda crosses her arms and waits.

She expects Phil to be nervous, but he looks determined. “We need to talk about what happened when I was stabbed.” He waits, but her face does not give away anything. “I know you know something about it. While I was kidnapped, I had a vision. You were there and Fury, and he stabbed you in the neck, and you were bleeding… ” She flinches involuntarily, and he fixes her with a determined stare. “I need to know what you did. What was that?”

“It was a protection spell. Ancient. It uses the blood of a slayer to protect someone from harm.”

Phil looks stunned. “I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

“It’s been lost. The Watchers’ Council banned it centuries ago. But Fury found enough information to piece it together.”

Phil stares down at his chest. “I lay in that cemetery for hours. I was in so much pain, I was sure I was going to die, but -- I was supposed to die. But I didn’t because of you and Fury. Because of what you did to me.” He looks up at her. “What exactly does this spell do? I mean, I survived getting stabbed through the heart. Am I immortal now? Or invulnerable? Are those the same thing?”

“I’m not sure. We weren’t even sure it would work. The spell required a lot of blood. Fury took as much as he could, but he wasn’t sure it would be enough.”

A look of realization dawns across his face. “That time you told me you were attacked by a vampire…”

He looks so hurt. She wants to make him understand. “I did it for you, Phil, to protect you.”

“I didn’t ask you to do that. I never would have wanted you to hurt yourself for me. You were laid up in bed for days after that.”

“I had to do it. I have slayer powers, but you don’t have any of that. You would have just gotten yourself killed.” She swallows and blinks away tears. “I cared about you so much. I would have done anything to keep you safe.”

The silence is deafening. Finally Phil says, “We have to find this spell. We need to know exactly how it works. Raina took some of my blood, and we have to assume that Hydra will find out about it.”

“The book is in the library. I can help you find it.”

“Let’s go.”

*****

Jemma sighs as they set up their gear at the beach. “This was a great suggestion, Skye. It’s the perfect day to go to the beach.”

Skye nods and spreads out her towel, trying not to look disappointed. The weather is perfect, hot and sunny, and she is thrilled to be spending it outside with her friends instead of cooped up in the library. But her last conversation with Ward casts a shadow over her good mood.

Jemma gives her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry that Ward couldn’t join us. But I don’t think it means he doesn’t like you.”

“You should have heard him,” Skye says. “He was so dismissive and cold. Like he couldn’t believe that I was asking him to do something so frivolous as go to the beach.”

“I’m sure he wasn’t thinking that. He’s probably just busy and stressed out from work.”

“Or he thinks that I’m just an annoying, silly kid.”

“He doesn’t think that.”

Trip and Mack come up carrying a large cooler between them. “Who doesn’t think what?” Trip asks.

“Nothing,” Jemma says too loudly and quickly.

“Just someone you don’t know,” Skye says.

“Are you talking about Ward again?” Fitz complains coming up behind Trip and Mack with a grocery bag full of snacks.

“Who’s Ward?” Mack asks.

“Skye’s almost boyfriend,” Fitz says.

“That guy at the dance?” Mack asks.

Skye catches the look Mack throws Trip. “Yeah. What?”

“It’s not a big deal,” Mack says, “but he didn’t seem like the friendliest guy. And Fitz and Jemma said that they haven’t even met him yet.”

“He’s kind of a loner. Okay, I know that makes him sound like the Unabomber, but he’s a loner in a normal, non-Unabomber kind of way. I mean, he goes out sometimes. He was supposed to come today, but he had to work,” Skye says.

Jemma nods. “Maybe next time he’ll be able to join us.”

Bored with talking about Ward, Fitz has started digging through the snacks, and he holds up a bag of chips. “Anyone want some?”

“Sure.” Mack grabs a handful and then fishes a football out of one of the bags. “Anyone want to play?”

“Sure.” Trip raises his hands and catches the ball easily. “Fitz? Jemma? Skye?” The three of them shake their heads. 

Skye pulls out a stack of magazines. “Maybe later. Right now I want to get caught up on my napping.” She lies down on the beach towel and closes her eyes. 

It is very soothing, lying there in the shade of their beach umbrella, listening to the rhythm of the waves and sounds of Fitz and Jemma arguing over the best way to build a sandcastle. She can almost forget for a moment all of her worries of the past few days. Not only have Phil and Melinda become more strict since Phil’s kidnapping, things are so tense between them that even being around them together is uncomfortable. But whenever she tries to talk to them about it, they act like they have no idea what she is talking about.

She wonders if this is how things are always going to be between the three of them. She is only a few years younger than them, but they act like she is a child, nagging her about training and keeping things from her. She doubts that they will ever treat her like a peer. Perhaps Ward is right, and it would be better to be on her own, in control of her own life instead of beholden to the Watcher’s Council.

She is lost in thought when a scream pierces the air. She leaps up from the towel and scans up and down the beach. A second scream draws her attention, and she runs towards the sound. Out of the corner of her eye she sees Mack and Trip abandon their game and chase after her.

Skye recognizes two people in her class, Callie Hannigan and Seth Dormer, screaming in the ocean. As she draws closer she realizes that the waves are frozen solid, and Callie and Seth are frozen within them. Just on the edge, another boy in her class, Donnie Gill is staring at them in shock, too stunned to move.

“Help! Help, please! Someone!” Callie shrieks.

A crowd has gathered not far from them, but the people look wary, afraid to get too close. Skye pushes past them and rushes onto the ice. It is solid enough that she can slide her way towards them without sinking into the water below. Callie and Seth have been trapped by the ice. One of Callie’s legs is caught, and Seth is submerged up to his waist. She reaches Callie first and starts to stamp at the ice to break it.

“Help!” Callie shouts.

In a few minutes the ice is cracked enough that Mack and Trip are able to pull Callie free. She rushes over to Seth, but the ice is thicker here, and just stamping it does nothing to break it up.

Seth stares at her, panic-stricken. “I can’t feel my legs.”

“I’m going to get you out of there. Relax.” She looks around for something she can use to break the ice. “Trip! Grab that umbrella.”

Mack and Trip have been helping Callie back to shore, and Trip grabs a nearby beach umbrella before dashing back to Seth. She whacks the end against the ice and after a few quick thrusts manages to break it up. Trip and Mack each grab one of Seth’s hands and pull him out of the ice and help him back to shore.

“What happened?” Skye asks them.

“I don’t know. We were playing in the water, and it suddenly turned to ice around us.” Callie looks at Seth.

“Must’ve been some freak weather thing,” he says.

“Must have been,” Skye says. “Well I’m glad you guys are safe. Be careful.” She glances back at the ice, which is stubbornly not melting, even under the hot California sun. Fitz and Jemma are standing at the edge staring at it and poking it with a stick. While everyone else is focusing on Callie and Seth, she goes over to Fitz and Jemma.

“So have you guys heard of anything like this? Like an ice demon or something?” Skye asks Jemma and Fitz. They are speaking quietly so as not to drawn attention to themselves.

“No. I don’t know of any demon that could have created something like this without our seeing it,” Jemma says.

“This seems more like magic,” Fitz says. “There are spells to freeze things, light fires, that sort of thing.”

“But it would take a powerful witch to do something this large and this permanent.” She pokes the ice with her shoe. “It’s not melting at all. In fact it grows onto the stick if it remains in contact with the ice.”

Skye looks up and down the beach. Most of the people are students from Sunnydale High or the University. “Anyone you know who could do something like this?”

Jemma’s eyes light up. “A witch at Sunnydale High!” Skye and Fitz give her a look “What? It’s exciting, that’s all. Imagine if someone we know has these sorts of powers.”

“I can’t think of anything magical going on at school that wasn’t explained by a demon or a vampire or some other nasty creature,” Fitz says.

“What about Callie and Seth? They’re in your class, Skye. Could they do this?” Jemma asks.

“I don’t know. They’re just normal kids. But we should talk to them, and find out if they saw anything. Donnie too. It looks like he was pretty close when it happened,” Skye says.

“Should we ask Phil and Melinda for help?” Fitz asks.

“No. We can handle this,” Skye says firmly. The last thing she wants is for them to swoop in, take over everything, and leave her in the dark like they always do. “We need to figure this out before someone else gets hurt and whoever did it gets away.”

“We’re going to have to go back to the library then,” Fitz says. “We need more information about these kinds of spells.”

“Uh, I don’t know that we have time to check the library,” Jemma says pointing at the ice. The patch of ice is continuing to expand into the ocean, but that is not what has her so alarmed. It takes a second for Skye to realize that the mist over the ice is not spray from the waves but sleet.

“It’s super cooling the air now too. If this spreads, it’s going to have much larger effects on the weather.”

Skye shudders. The ice spot is large, about the size of a small room, and the air above it is thick with ice and snow. “Someone here is responsible for this. We have to find out who and how to stop them.”

*****

When they get into the basement, Melinda leads Phil to one of the stacks in the back. He has not had a chance to inventory the books in this section yet, so he stands and watches while Melinda searches. Finally she pulls a small, dusty volume off the shelf. The book is fragile, and she turns the pages carefully until she finds the spell.

“This one.”

Phil peers over her shoulder. Most of the ingredients are fairly harmless, but the last one puts a lump in his throat. The blood of a slayer. “How much blood are they talking about? Do they mean all of the blood?”

“I don’t know. Fury said that it would take a lot. He took as much as I could give.” She had collapsed on the floor, and he had had to carry her out of the library and back home.

“We know that Hydra is obsessed with making their followers immortal. If they know about this, they’ll be coming after you and Skye to get your blood.”

Melinda feels a wave of guilt. “I didn’t think anyone would ever find out about this. Fury said it had been kept secret for hundreds of years. I thought just using it once wouldn’t hurt.”

“The Watcher’s Council banned this for a reason. If this spell is out there, it puts all of the slayers at risk. Me walking around after getting stabbed through the heart must have made Hydra suspicious.” His voice is cold and he takes the book out of her hand. “I have to study this.”

“Phil --”

“What?”

She wants to make him understand how much she cared about him, that she could not have lived with herself if trying to help her had gotten him killed. But she knows that right now the best thing is to give him some space to think. “I’m going to find Skye.”

His voice softens. “I’ll come by your house later. I need some time to think about all of this.”

*****

The ice storm chases most people off the beach, or at least to a safe distance. Mack and Trip rejoin them, eyeing the ice patch warily.

“No way this is a natural phenomenon,” Mack says. “Something caused this. I just don’t know what.”

“We should get out of here,” Trip says. “We can call the parks service. They might have to shut down the beach.”

“Maybe,” Skye says hesitantly. She glances over at Donnie, Callie, and Seth. Despite their close call, none of them have left. Instead the three of them are huddled together near the ice, and they seem to be arguing about something.

Trip follows her gaze. “You think they might have something to do with this?”

Skye glances at Fitz and Jemma, unsure of how much to say. Linda Avery had always emphasized that Skye could not tell anyone else the truth. But she had broken that rule with Fitz and Jemma, and so far they had been a big help.

Seeing her hesitation, Mack adds, “Something weird is definitely going on here. And it kind of seems like you three know more than you’re telling.”

Haltingly, Jemma says, “Well, it’s just that we think someone may be doing this using magic.”

“Magic, huh?” Mack asks. He sounds skeptical.

Trip, on the other hand, just shrugs and says, “Okay.”

Mack looks at Trip. “You believe them?”

“Come on man, weird things are always happening in Sunnydale. It’s not such a stretch to think some of it’s caused by magic.”

“Yeah, I guess. Okay. So what do you want to do about it? Can you guys do magic?”

“Maybe. There are lots of books on magic in the UC Sunnydale library, and we’ve read most of them --” Jemma says.

“-- but we haven’t cast any spells yet. We should start with something easy, like a revealing spell,” Fitz says.

“But you’re assuming that whoever is doing this is willing and able to stop the spell. Maybe they aren’t. What if this is their evil plan all along? We need to cast a spell to stop whatever magic is here,” Jemma says.

He throws up his hands. “Fine. But if it doesn’t work, don’t be angry at me.” They walk closer to the ice and gingerly step on it. Then they hold hands and begin to chant in Latin.

As the air fills with their chanting, the sleet begins to dissipate, and the ice starts to thin at the edges. It looks like it is working, but then the thinning ice cracks under Fitz and Jemma’s combined weight, sinking them up to their thighs in water and breaking their concentration. The water immediately freezes around them, and the air is thick with sleet and hail.

Skye, Trip, and Mack run towards them. Skye grabs the beach umbrella she used earlier to try to break them free. While Trip and Mack try to pull Jemma and Fitz out of the ice, Skye hits the ice over and over again, but it is no use. No matter how much she chips away at the ice, more forms in its place.

“Look out!” Fitz shouts.

Skye turns and sees Donnie and Seth coming up beside them. They are holding a large book and chanting like Jemma and Fitz were.

“What did you do?” she shouts at them. “Stop it!”

Focused on their chanting, they do not respond, though they raise their hands towards the three of them. Skye braces herself for an attack, but all she feels is cold air rushing past her. The sleet is rushing towards Seth and Donnie, and as it does, she feels the air begin to warm.

The sleet is condensing into a solid ball of ice that steadily growing. As it grows, it starts to shake, and Donnie gives Seth a nervous look. Seth pauses his chanting and flips frantically through the book, but before he can do anything else, the ball of ice explodes.

Skye moves quickly to try to shield her friends from the blast. When the ice stops raining down around them, she turns back to see what happened. Seth is lying on the beach, eyes staring blankly up at the sky, unmistakably dead. Donnie is staring at his fallen friend with a horrified look on his face. Then he sees Skye watching him and takes off running down the beach.

Instinctively she runs after him, but he manages to lose her in the crowd. She searches a while before giving up and going to check on the others. When she returns, she sees that the ice is already half melted, and they have pulled themselves out of what is left. The boys are standing over Seth’s body with Callie, who is carrying an armful of books, and Jemma is crouched beside him feeling for a pulse.

“He’s dead,” she says, verifying what Skye knew the moment she saw the empty look in his eyes.

Callie drops her books and cries. “It was just supposed to be fun. We didn’t mean for this to happen. I told them to be careful with the more powerful spells. I don’t know why they even tried something like this.”

Skye turns away. She has seen dead bodies before as a slayer, but this feels different. Even though she does not know what she could have done, she somehow feels like she failed him. She walks back to their beach towel and grabs her things. Jemma chases after her. 

“Wait. Where are you going? We need to talk to the police, and then go back to the library so we can figure out why this happened.”

Skye shakes her head. “I can’t do that right now. I need to be alone.” She walks away, leaving a stunned Jemma behind her.

*****

Melinda is surprised when Phil comes by her house just before nightfall. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

“Is Skye here?”

Melinda shakes her head. “I haven’t heard from her all day. Fitz and Jemma said there was a problem at the beach, and Skye took off. None of us have heard from her since.”

“She’s probably just enjoying her day off,” Phil says, although he sounds unconvinced. “We can give her a little longer and then go look for her.”

“Maybe she needs some space. I feel like I’ve been pushing her too hard lately,” Melinda says. “I know how hard it is to balance being a teenager with being the slayer. I was thinking about all the arguments I used to have with Peggy and Fury about training and patrolling when all I wanted to do was be with you.”

Phil looks uncomfortable, and Melinda regrets bringing up the past. She wonders if it will always be so hard for both of them to think about how things used to be. Finally Phil says, “I know that you did what you did because you wanted to protect you, but I feel the same way about you. I care about you, and I want to protect you. I don’t like that you hurt yourself because of me.”

“Even though if I hadn’t, you would have died?”

“Yes.”

“Phil --”

“You have a destiny. As the slayer you have to risk your life to protect the world. I’ve never wanted to get in the way of that, to be someone you had to risk your life for. I want to help you. I know that you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders, but you don’t have to do it alone. Everyone needs someone to lean on. Let me be that person for you.”

She shakes her head. “I can’t, Phil. I don’t want to put you in danger. I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you because of me.” She stares out the window at the darkened city below. “Peggy and Fury always said it was a bad idea for us to be together. They didn’t want me to let my feelings for you interfere with being the slayer.”

“Fury told me that a few times too, but I tried to ignore him,” he admits.

“I used to think that our feelings for each other would only make us stronger. But I think Peggy and Fury were right. It’s a liability we can’t afford.”

“Maybe, but pretending I don’t have feelings for you just makes things more difficult.” He sighs. “Maybe we just have to accept them. I’m always going to care about you, Melinda, whether we’re together or not. And I’m always going to want to help you however I can.”

She feels like ever since she came back she has been trying to keep people at arms length -- Skye, Phil, even her mother. After everything she had been through, it seemed easier to isolate herself. But the effort is too much. Her mother is always there, never pushing, just patiently waiting as Melinda gradually lets her in more and more. Then there is Skye. At first she told herself that she was just teaching the girl to fight, but it is more than that. She feels protective of Skye, and it is a relief to finally have someone to share the burden of being the slayer with. That only leaves Phil on the other side of the wall she has built around herself, and keeping him out is the most tiring of all. It would be so nice to let him in too.

She reaches out and touches his arm. “I’m always going to care about you too,” she says.

*****

Ward slides into the booth across from Skye. “You wanted to see me.”

“Yeah. Thanks for coming.”

“Of course, I’m glad you called. What’s up?”

“Nothing.” She stirs her coffee. She is not sure who she can open up to about what happened on the beach today, but she needs to talk about it with someone. Fitz and Jemma as usual have turned back to their books to understand what happened, and she is afraid of how Phil and Melinda will react. Deep down, she wonders if things would be different if they had been there instead of her. Maybe Seth would still be alive, and Donnie would not be on the run. “Have you ever -- have you ever known someone who got hurt?”

“Yeah. My family was attacked by vampires, remember?” He studies her face, knowing that there is more to the question.

“What about when it was your fault?”

“What happened?”

She shakes her head. “Someone got hurt today, and I wasn’t able to stop it,” she admits quietly. She stares down at her coffee mug.

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”

“Yes it is. I’m the slayer. Whether its vampires or demons or black magic, I have to protect people from these things. But how can I protect people from things I can’t see or don’t understand?”

“Relax. You put too much pressure on yourself. Sometimes even when you do everything you can, it’s not enough. But that doesn’t mean you’re not a good slayer.”

“How do you know that?

“Because you’re a good person. You haven’t let all this darkness corrupt you.” He looks away, but not before she can see the sorrow in his eyes.

“So are you. You’re fighting against vampires, demons, all on your own. Me, it’s my duty. But for you, it’s your calling.”

“More like a penance.” His voice is slow and halting. “When my family was attacked, I was there. It happened so fast. I was supposed to be in the basement. My parents were punishing me for something - I don’t even remember anymore - but when I heard my mother scream, I crept to the top of the stairs. I saw the monsters kill my parents, my brothers, my sister, but I was too afraid to stop them. I didn’t know how.” He stops, overwhelmed by emotion, and she reaches out and places her hand over his.

“It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have saved them. Not without weapons or training.”

“Yeah, I know. I just can’t help but think that if I had tried, I would have died with them. Maybe I deserved to.”

“No one deserves to die.” Her voice is louder than she intended because they get some puzzled looks from the people at the nearby booth.

Ward looks alarmed. “Maybe we should go someplace more private,” he says. “My car’s right outside.”

“I should get back to the Mays.”

“I’ll give you a ride. We can talk on the way. Maybe take the long way home.”

“I’d like that.” She grabs her jacket and follows him out of the diner. His car is parked right outside, an old Chevy Impala. “Nice ride,” she teases.

He smiles. “It’s not much to look at, but it drives fine.” He reaches around and opens her door for her. “Door’s a little sticky though.”

“Thanks.”

He starts driving towards the college and then turns to loop around the campus. She knows that Melinda and Phil will be upset about her skipping patrolling, but she does not care. Talking to Ward was exactly what she needed. She smiles at him. She likes watching him drive, focused on the road, his hands lightly resting on the steering wheel. She imagines what it would be like to have those hands around her waist, like when they were dancing, or tangled in her hair if he were to kiss her.

They pull up at a stoplight, and he drums his fingers impatiently at the steering wheel. They are parked across from a place that has great tacos, but they are already closed. Skye is about to tell Ward that they will have to come back and get tacos together sometime, when she freezes. In the darkened window she can see her reflection, and the car’s reflection, but not Ward’s. Where he should be is just empty space.

“So do you want to go someplace before I take you home? I could show you my place. It’s not much, but it’s clean.”

She tries not to show the panic that she is feeling right now. “I really should get home. The Mays are going to freak if I’m not home soon.” 

“Okay. To the May’s house it is. But I’m still taking the long way.”

“Okay.” While his attention is on the road, she unclasps the small silver cross she wears around her neck to see if she can discreetly brush it against his arm. Before she does anything, she has to be sure.

*****

Phil smiles when she touches his arm, and he takes her hand and squeezes it. She takes a step towards him, and he closes the distance between them and puts his arms around her. It feels so natural to relax in his embrace again. His body is warm and comforting against hers. She tilts her head up to look at him. Their faces are only inches apart, close enough that his breath is tickling her cheek. More than anything she wants to kiss him, and she can tell that he feels the same way because he closes his eyes and slowly moves his lips towards hers.

The sound of someone frantically knocking at the door makes them pull apart hastily. Phil gives Melinda a look, and she grabs her stake and stands behind him, poised to attack while he looks through the peep hole.

He waves Melinda down. “It’s okay. It’s Jemma.” He swings the door open and ushers Jemma quickly inside. “Jemma, what’s going on?”

She looks terrified, and she is out of breath from running all the way there. “It’s Skye!”

“What happened?” Melinda asks.

“She was upset after our trip to the beach, but she wouldn’t talk to us, and she said that she wanted to be by herself, so I let her go because I thought the rest of us could go back to the library and check some things about witches and spells and then meet up with her later, but if I had even suspected --”

“Jemma. Slow down. Breathe,” Phil says. “Now what happened to Skye?”

“She’s with Ward. And she sent me this.” Jemma holds up her phone. On it, in all caps, is Skye’s last text: WARD IS A VAMPIRE.


	10. Chapter 10

Jemma is shaking so hard that she can barely hold the cup of tea that Melinda has fixed for her. They are sitting at the kitchen table, and seated across from her, Melinda is staring at her own cup of tea while Phil drills her with questions.

“Jemma, think. Skye must have told you something about Ward that will help us find them.”

Jemma shakes her head. “I can’t think of anything. She didn’t know much about him at all. Just that he was from LA, and that his parents were killed by vampires. But that’s probably all lies.”

“What about school? Work?”

“He said he worked construction, but he never told Skye where.”

“Another lie,” Phil says grimly. “How did she get in touch with him?”

“She has his phone number, but usually he would just show up unexpectedly -- at the school dance, at the diner, at the cemetery --”

Melinda frowns. “I’ve never seen him on patrol.”

“She said that he would show up almost every time she had to go alone. He said he wanted to protect her.”

Melinda and Phil exchange a look. “How would he know when she had to go alone?” he asks.

“The only times she had to go alone were when I couldn’t get out of working at the diner. Skye would usually have dinner there before going out.”

“He may live near the diner, or close to the cemetery,” Phil says. “There are some abandoned houses in that area. We should check them out.”

Melinda runs upstairs. When she appears a moment later, she is carrying a few stakes and a crossbow, which she hands to Phil. “Jemma, stay here until my mom gets home from work. She can drive you home. It isn’t safe for you to walk home alone. If Ward has taken Skye, he may be coming after the rest of us next.”

*****

When Skye wakes up, all she can see is blackness. As her eyes adjust to the darkness, she realizes that she is in an empty room lying on a four poster bed. Her wrists are bound above her head and attached to the wall with a thick metal chain; her ankles are similarly bound to the foot of the bed. She struggles against her restraints, but the chains are too strong for her to break. All she gets from her efforts to break free are some nasty cuts on her wrists.

The door opens, and Ward comes in and turns on a light. “Good, you’re awake. How did you sleep?” His face is earnest, his voice genuinely caring, and the sight of him enrages her again.

“Not great since you knocked me unconscious.”

Ward shakes his head sadly. “I wish you hadn’t tried to escape.” He holds up his arm, which still has a burn mark from where her cross touched him. “But after you did this, I had to lock you up. I wouldn’t have to do that if I knew that I could trust you.”

She stares at him incredulously. “Trust me? You’ve been lying to me the whole time! You kidnapped me!”

“I had to Skye. I’m trying to protect you from Hydra.”

“You are Hydra. I saw the mark on your arm when you were kidnapping me.” 

“This?” He raises his sleeve where the mark of Hydra is burned into his skin. “This makes me stronger. But I’m not a true believer. I’m not going to let Hydra get their hands on you.” Seeing her confusion, he smiles. She used to think his smile was sweet and sexy, but now it seems predatory. “You mean Phil and Melinda haven’t told you why he was kidnapped?” Her silence tells him everything he wants to know. “Hydra wanted to find out the truth about how he survived that vampire attack. Haven’t you ever wondered about that? He was stabbed right through the heart. No normal human can survive that.”

Phil does not like to talk about his near-death experience, and she had no idea how serious it was. “What are you saying? That he’s a demon or something?”

“He’s still human. But they used ancient magic to make him invulnerable. It uses the blood of the slayer.” He pauses to let the words sink in. “Now do you understand why I have to protect you? Now that Hydra knows this, they’re going to do anything to get their hands on a slayer to replicate that spell.”

“And this is your master plan? Chain me to a bed until they give up looking for me?” Then it dawns on her what he is actually doing. “You want to make sure they kill Melinda and not me.”

“She already died once. She’s not supposed to be alive. Hydra can get what they need from Melinda and Phil, and you’ll be safe with me.” He gives her a look that is almost tender, and Skye feels sick to her stomach. “I told you that you couldn’t trust them. But you can trust me. I’ll protect you.” He gently strokes her hair, and Skye uses the opportunity to headbutt him right in the face.

“I will never be with you, and I’m never going to let Hydra get their hands on Melinda and Phil.” She struggles against the chains to no avail.

Ward looks angry. “I’m not the only one who has been lying to you,” he snarls. “Melinda and Phil have been lying to you this whole time. I’m trying to protect you, from Hydra and from them. You don’t understand yet, but you will. I’ll make you understand.”

She stares at him in horror as the meaning of his words sinks in. “I’m going to throw up.”

*****

When Melinda and Phil leave the May house, they head towards a block of abandoned houses. A few years ago, they were supposed to be bulldozed to make room for a new condo development. Then the construction company went bankrupt, and the houses have been empty ever since. At one point while they were in high school, a colony of vampires had taken up residence there, but after Melinda and Phil had slayed them, the others had avoided it. No other vampires had wanted to live so close to the slayer. But their close proximity to the May house also make them the perfect base for keeping an eye on Melinda and Skye.

They are halfway there when Phil asks, “So what’s the plan?”

“Find Ward. Rescue Skye.”

“That’s not much of a plan.”

Melinda stops and turns to face him. “What more do we need, Phil? We have to get her back now. They must have figured out the spell, and we have to rescue her before they can drain her blood.”

“I know that, but we have to be careful. Ward has been stalking Skye for months, for god knows what reason, and now he has her. He’ll be expecting us. And if he’s a Hydra vampire --”

Melinda gestures for him to be quiet. She is staring off in the distance where a figure is approaching them. It takes a minute before he recognizes their old high school classmate, John Garrett.

“Hey John,” Phil says. “What are you doing back in town?”

“Just visiting some friends,” he says. 

John had mentioned being friends with Ward the last time they had seen him. Phil hesitates before asking him about Ward, but reasons that he cannot be a vampire too since the last time he had seen him, it had been light outside. “Hey, I’m glad we ran into you. You know a guy named Grant Ward, right? Melinda and I are looking for him.”

John looks guarded. “What do you want with Ward?”

“We think Melinda’s foster sister is with him, and it’s past her curfew.”

He gives them a suggestive look. “You know how teenagers are. I bet you guys broke curfew more than a few times when you were her age. Tell you what -- if I see them, I’ll tell her to head right home.”

Phil frowns. “Do you know where we could look for him? Like maybe his apartment? Melinda’s mom is going to upset if she’s not home soon.” Phil asks.

The amiable smile on John’s face falls away, and he sighs. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Melinda sees a flash of movement, and a half dozen vampires swarm around them. Melinda raises her stake and is about to launch herself at the leader, but John raises a gun and points it at Phil.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he says. “Not unless you want to test just how powerful that spell is.”

Phil points his crossbow at John. “I’ll take my chances,” he says.

John smiles smugly at Melinda. “He might, but will you?” Melinda lowers her stake and glares at him. “Thought so,” he says. “I want you to know that I didn’t want it to go this way. I was hoping Grant would bring me Skye, but it looks like the boy’s got a soft spot for her. But because we’ve known each other a long time, I’m going to give you both a chance to join me. You’ve survived the procedure once already, Melinda, and if you give me what I want, there’s no reason you and your boyfriend have to die.”

“I’d rather die than give Hydra the ability to make invulnerable super vamps,” Melinda says.

John shakes his head. “Wake up, Melinda. Hydra is going to win. No matter how many you kill, there’s always going to be more. Why keep fighting a losing battle until you both die -- again? I’m giving you the chance to be on the winning side.” 

Phil shudders. “I don’t know what’s creepier -- that you actually believe what you’re saying, or that you think we would ever join you.”

John sighs. “Have it your way then.” He nods to the vampires and motions towards them. “Take them. Do whatever you want to him, but I need her alive.”

But Melinda is too fast. Phil is still pointing the crossbow at John, and she moves quickly to pull the trigger, sending the bolt flying at John, as she pushes Phil out of the way of John’s gun.

John screams in pain and collapses to the ground. The bolt has lodged itself in his side instead of his heart, but to their surprise, there is blood welling up around the injury. Two of the vampires run to his side and carry him away while the other four circle them with a hungry look in their eyes.

Phil pulls himself up off the ground and loads another bolt into his crossbow. He stands with his back against Melinda’s and takes aim as she launches herself against another vampire. Even though it has been a long time since they fought together, they move seamlessly, Phil dispatching a vampire with his crossbow while Melinda knocks down the other one and stakes him. Phil fires at another vampire as he charges at Melinda, but as he goes to reload, the final one throws him to the ground. He goes to bite him, but Melinda manages to shove her stake through his back before he has the chance, and he disappears in a cloud of dust.

“Thanks,” Phil says. He grabs her hand, and she pulls him to his feet.

“You too. You’re good with that thing.”

“Too bad that shot at John was a little off,” Phil says. He frowns, thinking about the significance of what they just saw. “If he were a vampire, he shouldn’t have been hurt, but he starting bleeding.”

“So he’s not a vampire. He’s what? A demon?”

“That blood looked awfully human.”

“Why would he join Hydra if he’s human? He was always a smug jerk, but he wasn’t evil,” Melinda says.

“I don’t know, but that can wait. We have to get to Skye before Hydra can complete the spell.”

*****

A knock on the door interrupts them, and Ward looks panicked as he rushes downstairs. He returns a moment later looking annoyed followed by the witch who had holding Phil hostage.

“Now isn’t a good time, Raina,” he snarls.

“Well you should make the time. Garrett’s looking for you. He’s getting impatient.” She looks at Skye lying chained to the bed. “Oh I see. You just don’t want to have to share your toys.”

Skye thrashes against her restraints. “I’m not a toy!”

Raina smirks at her. “I can see why you want her all to yourself.”

“I’m not just doing this for me. Skye is more valuable to us turned. If Garrett wants someone to drain and throw away, he can use Melinda.”

Raina rolls her eyes. “There’s nothing more obnoxious than a vampire in love. But time is running out. Garrett can’t wait much longer.”

“This isn’t my problem. Saving him is your job. You said all you needed was Phil, and I brought him to you weeks ago.”

“Well he turned out to be a dead end. Only the fresh blood of a slayer will complete the spell.” She eyes Skye. “The bloodletting didn’t kill the last slayer. Perhaps this one would survive as well. Then again, I doubt Garrett would want me to skimp on the recipe. The spell Fury cast barely kept that boy alive.”

Ward draws his fangs on Raina. “You’ll get your blood, but not from her.”

“I don’t see why you’re being so prickly,” Raina complains. “You’re going to turn her anyway, so why can’t I have her blood first for my spell.”

“Not yet.” He gives Skye a desperate look. “I need her to understand first. The transition will be easier on her that way.” He touches her cheek. “Eventually you’ll see that I’m right. You’ll want to become a vampire.”

Skye gags. The idea of becoming a vampire is horrifying on its own, but his desire to make her beg for it really creeps her out. Her only hope is that she can figure out a way to escape while he is trying to make his sick fantasies come true. Since brute strength is not going to do the trick, she takes advantage of his argument with Raina to examine her bonds more closely and try to find a way out of them.

Raina rolls her eyes. “Aren’t you afraid that the slayer and that boy are going to come looking for her?”

“No. They only care about each other. The only one who cares about Skye enough to protect her is me.”

Skye turns away before he can see how upset his words have made her. For a moment she wonders if she will be down here alone forever.

Raina, however, is unconvinced. “And if you’re wrong?”

“Then I’ll get you all the slayer blood you need.”

Raina smiles at this. “I’ll get the rest of the ingredients ready.”

*****

Jemma’s parents are out of town at a research conference, so she asks Ms. May to drive her to Fitz’s house. They sit together watching an episode of Doctor Who, but they are both too distracted to focus on the show. When the episode ends, the DVD goes back to the menu screen, but neither one moves to play the next episode. Jemma looks at her phone, but there are no missed calls or texts. “I guess they haven’t found her yet,” she says glumly.

“Probably not,” Fitz agrees. 

Jemma sighs. “I feel so helpless. I want to do something.”

“But how? I don’t think they need us to research spells or demons now.”

“Maybe we can help them find out where Ward has taken Skye. If he’s part of Hydra, he may have taken her to their main lair. We know that the Hydra vampires used to be in Steiner Hall, but that wasn’t their main lair. They must have had a tunnel or something connecting the two so they could move about in the daytime.”

Fitz jumps up and grabs his computer. “We’ve already searched for places on campus where Hydra might be hiding, but if we look for tunnels that connect with the rest of town --” It does not take long for him to find a map of the city sewer system, and he places it over a map of the UC Sunnydale campus. 

“Here,” Jemma says pointing to a spot where the sewer tunnels and the campus utility tunnels overlap. “If the Hydra lair were here --”

“-- then they would have access to the entire city,” Fitz finishes. “We should tell the others.”

Jemma starts to text Phil and Melinda what they found, but stops. “Phil and Melinda are looking for Skye in those abandoned houses near the cemetery. They don’t have time to go off on a wild goose chase.”

“You’re not suggesting that we go after Hydra ourselves, are you?”

“Not go after them, but what if we took a peek to be sure. There’s an access point into the sewers here, not far from where we think the Hydra lair. We could be in and out without them even noticing.”

Fitz looks nervous. “I don’t know Jemma. What if we’re caught?”

“I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

He hesitates but finally nods. “Okay. But we have to be careful.”

*****

When they get to the lot, the houses are dark and quiet. At first glance it looks like no one has been there for months, but Melinda notices a small gap in the chain link fence, and Phil points out footsteps leading there from the street. They slip through the fence and follow the tracks to a house in the center of the lot. The doors are all locked shut, but Melinda spots a second story window that is open a crack.

“There,” she points it out to Phil, “I can climb in through that window.”

Phil peers up at it. “It’s awfully high up.”

“Not if you’re a slayer.” Melinda moves to leap up and snag the ledge, but Phil grabs her arm.

“Wait. You can’t go in there alone. What if he’s waiting for you, or has other vampires in there?”

“What do you want me to do -- throw you up there too? There’s no time to find another way inside.”

“I’m not going to let you go in there alone.”

“Let me?” Melinda snaps, but when she sees how concerned he looks, she softens. “Fine. Wait here, and once I’m inside, I’ll come down and unlock the door.” She leaps up and manages to snag the ledge with one hand, then uses it to pull herself up and pry the window open. She motions for him to meet her at the front door before disappearing inside.

Each second that he waits outside the door for her to reappear feels like an eternity. He worries that she has run into trouble, but thankfully the house remains quiet. After a few long minutes, he gives up waiting and grabs a shovel that he finds in the yard to try breaking down the door. But before he can use it, he hears a click, and the door swings open. 

Melinda raises her eyebrows. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing.” He tosses it to one side. “What did you see inside?”

“The second floor looks pretty much abandoned, but when I came down the stairs I saw some light coming from the kitchen.”

She turns and motions for him to follow her. The house is completely silent, but a dim light is coming from the kitchen. Phil notices that all the windows on the first floor are lined with blackout curtains, so no one would notice someone living in there. The kitchen is the first room with clear signs of life -- there’s a pack of cigarettes on the counter and a few bottles of liquor on the counter. Phil takes a peek in the refrigerator. The only contents are a few bottles of blood. 

“I think we’re on the right track,” Phil says quietly.

Melinda checks the kitchen carefully, but there is no one there but them. She gestures at the door leading to the basement. “They must be down there.”

Phil nods. “I’m right behind you.”

*****

Raina leaves to get supplies for the spell, but Ward stays in the room to make sure she does not escape. At first she tries to ignore him, but eventually her curiosity gets the best of her.

“So what was all of this, some kind of game? You in the habit of playing with your victims before you eat them?”

He sounds genuinely horrified. “How could you think that, Skye? My feelings for you are real. They always have been.”

“Right. Like that sob story you told me about fighting vampires to avenge your dead family.”

“That wasn’t the whole truth,” he admits. “My family was killed by vampires, but I wasn’t angry with them. I was grateful. Garrett saw what my family did to me, how they tore me down, treated me like I was nothing. He saw the potential for greatness in me and ordered the vampires to turn me. I owe him everything.”

“Garrett? That guy who went to school with Melinda and Phil? Is he like the head vampire or something?” She remembers meeting him once at the diner, and she shudders at how he had tried to get her to leave with him to meet Ward.

“Garrett’s not a vampire. He has bigger plans for himself.”

“So he’s still human? What kind of a human would work for a demon like Hydra?”

“Garrett is a great man. He knows how to pick the winning side. The Watcher’s Council has you fighting a battle you can’t possibly win. Join us, and I can give you everything you’ve ever wanted.”

Skye looks disparagingly at him. “I’m not like you and Garrett. I don’t want power or immortality or anything like that.”

“You want a place where you belong, and people who value you. You can find that in Hydra, like I did. Do you think you’ll ever get that from the Watcher’s Council, or from Phil? They have their precious Melinda May back. They don’t need you with her around. But I don’t care about her. I only care about you. Start over with Hydra, and you’ll never be in someone else’s shadow.”

As much as she hates to admit it, his words hit their mark. She has always prided herself on the fact that she can get along fine on her own, but deep down, she longs for a family. She thinks about Phil giving her a place to stay when she was homeless and making her pancakes, Melinda picking her up from school every day and helping her get ready for the dance, and Melinda’s mother packing her a lunch every morning before she leaves for work. They feel like a family, but a part of her wonders if they only put up with her because she is a slayer.

Ward must see how much his words have affected her, because he gives her a predatory smile and reaches out to stroke her hair. This time she does not pull away, and he moves closer to her.

“I love you, Skye, and once you’re a vampire I’ll be able to protect you forever.”

He bares his fangs and lowers his mouth towards her neck. Skye closes her eyes and lies very still until his lips are just touching her skin, and then she pulls as hard as she can against her chains. While he had been talking to Raina, she had managed to loosen her bonds just enough that when she does this, she gets enough slack to wrap the chains around his neck.

“I can protect myself, thanks.”

*****

“Well we know one thing for sure,” Phil whispers as he and Melinda walk through the basement, “Ward wasn’t completely lying to Skye when he said he worked construction.”

She rolls her eyes. “Shhh.” 

He is right though, someone has done considerable work on the basement of this house. It is much larger than the first floor above it, and Melinda suspects that he has connected it to the other basements in the lot to create a labyrinth of rooms, all safely underground. Unfortunately they have no way of knowing which room he is holding Skye in, and they are making slow progress checking every door. They see a lot of empty rooms, as well as rooms full of weapons, and a room filled with maps of Sunnydale. It takes a moment for Melinda to realize that they are marked with Skye’s routes through town: to school, to the diner, to the cemetery. She shudders, and Phil places a hand on her shoulder.

“We must be getting close,” he says quietly. “These last few rooms all look like they’ve been used recently.”

Melinda nods. She turns back to the door and notices that this wall is covered with blueprints of the building they are in. “Phil, look.”

“If we’re here, then there’s a large room right up here --” he points to the wall. “I bet that’s where he’s holding her.”

“Let’s go.”

*****

Ward struggles against Skye as she pulls the chains tighter around his neck. His fingers claw against the chains, trying to keep her from pulling them so tight that he passes out, but he cannot get a good grip on the chains. For a moment it seems like this is going to work, but then Raina bursts into the room.

“We have company,” she announces. She stares at the bed, where Skye is strangling Ward. “It seems like things aren’t going much better in here.” With a quick twitch of her fingers, she makes the chains around his neck disappear. This also frees Skye’s hands, and she takes the opportunity to throw him against the wall before he can get his bearings. His head slams into the wall, and he crumples to the ground unconscious.

Raina looks impressed. Skye’s ankles are still chained to the bed, and Raina makes sure to stay far enough away that she cannot get to her. “Ward might be right about you. You would make a powerful vampire. Too bad you won’t have the chance now.” The air around Skye suddenly grows thick and heavy, so heavy that she cannot move. She approaches Skye with a knife, but before she can reach her, the door opens, to reveal Melinda and Phil.

Melinda raises her fist to knock her out, but Raina is ready with another spell to freeze them in place as well. Her smug expression is replaced with panic though when she hears Phil chanting a counterspell. Skye feels the air start to thin. In a few moments, they will be free. Raina glances at Skye and Melinda. Melinda may still be frozen in place, but she looks ready to strike, and Raina looks like she does not want to face an angry Melinda May again. She runs out of the room before they have the chance to stop her.

As soon as they can move, Phil rushes over to Skye. “Are you hurt?”

She shakes her head. “I’m fine. They didn’t get anything from me. Why --” She hates to admit it, but part of her had believed Ward when he was so sure that no one would come for her. “How did you find me?”

“Jemma showed us the message you sent her,” Phil says. “While we were looking for you, we ran into Garrett and his Hydra goons, which let us know that Ward was probably keeping you somewhere around here.” As he tries to free Skye from her chains, Melinda strides over to Ward, who is still unconscious on the floor. She nudges him with her foot.

“You knocked him out?” she asks.

“Yeah. I strangled him with the chains around my wrist and threw him across the room.”

“Nice.” Melinda raises her stake to finish him off, but Phil stops her.

“Wait. We need to find out what he knows about Hydra.”

Skye stares incredulously at him. “You want to take him with us?”

“We have to. Right now we don’t know anything about what kind of forces Hydra has or where they are. Ward can tell us all that.”

Melinda looks like she wants to argue, but she swallows her protests and searches Ward to make sure he does not have any weapons on him. She finds a key tucked into his jacket pocket, and she tosses it to Phil, who uses it to unlock the cuffs still around Skye’s ankles.

“So how are we going to --” Melinda starts to say as a loud explosion interrupts her. Phil opens the door, and smoke pours in from the hallway. He quickly slams the door shut.

“Raina must have set the building on fire when she left,” he says.

“We have to get out of here,” Skye says. “Where are we?”

“We’re under a lot of abandoned houses. The only way out is down that hallway and up a flight of stairs. Stay low to the ground.” He glances at Ward, and Melinda shakes her head.

“We can’t take him, Phil. He’s only going to slow us down.”

Phil nods. “Stay close behind me, Skye.” He counts to three in his head, then opens the door and plunges into to the hallway with Skye and Melinda close behind. They race down the hallway as fast as they can, as the flames surround them. He tries to avoid breathing in any of the smoky air, and by the time they reach the stairs, his eyes are watering, and his lungs are burning. He starts to feel weak from lack of oxygen, and Skye puts her arm around him and helps him the rest of the way out of the building.

Outside they pause briefly to watch the building burn, but then they hear the approach of a fire truck and notice a crowd starting to gather. Before they can be spotted, they slip back through the fence and run all the way back home.


	11. Chapter 11

Even though it is very late by the time they get home, Ms. May is waiting for them in the kitchen drinking tea. When she seems them, sweaty and covered in soot, she looks horrified. “What happened?”

“It’s a long story,” Phil says.

Ms. May folds her arms across her chest. “I’m waiting.”

Quickly Phil summarizes the events of the evening, starting with Skye being kidnapped by Ward and ending with them escaping Ward’s burning lair. Ms. May interrupts him a few times to ask questions, some of which he cannot answer. He looks to Skye to fill in the gaps, but she avoids his gaze and stares at her feet.

Ms. May goes over to her. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Skye says.

“The vampire didn’t hurt you.”

“No.” She does not feel like talking about what happened when she was kidnapped. Not yet. Ward’s declarations of love still deeply disturb her, and she does not understand why he is so focused on her.

“Did Jemma get home alright?” Melinda asks her mother.

“I drove her to Leo Fitz’s house hours ago.”

“I should text her and let her know I’m okay,” Skye says. But before she can send the message, there is a frantic knocking on their door.

Ms. May scowls. “Who could that be so late?”

Melinda gets up and grabs a stake. “Stay here. I’ll get it.” She goes to the front door and peers through the peephole before opening the door. “Jemma? Fitz? What are you guys doing here?”

Jemma takes a step forward, and Melinda realizes that she is half-carrying, half-dragging Fitz, who is unconscious with a nasty-looking wound on his temple. She has no idea how Jemma has managed to carry him this far. Melinda steps in to grab him, and the two girls lay him onto the couch.

Skye, Phil, and her mother have joined them in the living room. Skye’s mouth is open in shock. “Jemma, what happened?”

“It’s all my fault,” Jemma wails. She is wringing her hands nervously and talking so fast that they can barely keep up. “I felt so helpless after you were taken, Skye, and I wanted to help somehow, so I went over to Fitz’s house, and we were thinking about places that Ward might have taken you, and where Hydra might have it’s lair. So we looked at some maps, and we found this point where the sewer system and the maintenance tunnels under the college converge. Fitz wanted to tell you guys right away, but I didn’t want to tell you until we were sure, so we went down there and --” She trails off, unable to finish.

“And Fitz got hurt?”

Jemma nods. “I’ve read about glamours, and I thought that I could create one so no one would notice us, but it didn’t work. They caught us, and we barely managed to escape.”

Ms. May has been examining Fitz on the couch. He is completely unconscious but still breathing. “What happened to him?”

“He got hit in the head while we were escaping. I had to carry him out of there.” Jemma looks like she is about to cry, and Skye hugs her.

“You’re safe now. Everything’s going to be okay.” She looks to Ms. May for confirmation, but she looks grim.

“He needs to go to the hospital. I’ll drive him.” She gets up to grab her purse and her keys. “Melinda, help me get him into the car.”

“Can I come with you?” Jemma asks.

Ms. May’s voice is gentle but firm. “No. You all need to rest.” Jemma starts to protest, but she shakes her head. “None of you have had any sleep in twenty-four hours. You won’t be any good for Fitz or for saving the world when you’re so exhausted.”

Melinda looks like she knows better than to argue with her mother. “You can all sleep here. It’s safer to stick together while Hydra is after us. I’ll get some blankets.”

While Phil makes up the couch, Skye looks for a sleeping bag for Jemma. “You can sleep in my room. I’ll clear some space on the floor.” In a hall closet she digs out a sleeping bag printed with pictures of Mulan, probably leftover from Melinda’s childhood. She giggles. “Look Jemma. She kind of reminds me of Melinda, actually.”

Jemma gives her a shaky smile. “She’s cute. She can protect me from the Huns.”

Skye clears some space on the floor for Jemma and then goes to take a shower. She is covered with soot and dirt after her kidnapping, and she stands under the hot spray for a long time trying to feel clean again. No matter how hard she scrubs though she cannot shake the feeling that there is something evil inside her, something that drew Ward to her in the first place.

By the time she gets out of the shower, Jemma is already sound asleep. Part of her wants to talk to someone about how she is feeling, but she is afraid to let them know how much Ward got to her. Her mind is so busy turning over his words that she does not expect to be able to sleep at all, but as soon as her head hits the pillow, she falls into a deep, troubled sleep.

*****

Sleep does not come easily for Melinda. Every time she manages to drift off for more than a moment, her mind fills with images of shadowy creatures hunting her through the sewers. After waking up in a cold sweat for the fourth time, she abandons her attempts at sleep and resolves to face Hydra herself. She gets dressed and grabs a few stakes, then quietly sneaks down the stairs so as not to wake the others. She is almost out the door when Phil sits up on from the couch and switches on a lamp.

“Trying to sneak out?” Phil asks.

“I thought you’d be asleep,” she admits.

“I was for a while. What about you?”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“So you decided to take on Hydra single-handedly?”

“That is my job.”

“What about Skye? And me?”

“Skye is too shaken up right now. She needs time to recover.” Her voice is thick with emotion. “This is my responsibility. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for me.” She thinks about Phil, pale and shaken after his kidnapping, and Skye trying to hide it but clearly disturbed by what has happened to her. “I need to fix it.”

He reaches out and touches her arm. “Melinda, none of this is your fault.”

She pulls away and is halfway to the door when Jemma’s voice interrupts them. “You can’t go by yourself.” She is running down the stairs followed closely by Skye. “There’s too many of them for you to take on by yourself. The cavern was full of demons and vampires when Fitz and I saw it.”

“I’m not letting you go out there alone,” Skye says. She is still wearing her pajamas, but she has put on sneakers and is holding a stake. Melinda has no doubt that if she leaves now, Skye will follow.

She remembers how much she had longed for there to be another slayer when she was a teenager. Back then she had thought that it would mean getting a night off to go to the movies with Phil like a normal teenager and having someone to watch her back on patrol. It had never occurred to her how hard it would be to care about someone, help her train, and watch her grow as a slayer, knowing that ultimately Melinda’s job is to send her into danger time and time again. In many ways it is easier to be alone. But she thinks about what Phil had said earlier about letting him help her, and she knows that she needs to do with same with Skye. They are stronger together than apart. 

Slowly she nods and turns away from the door. “Alright. What did you have in mind?”

*****

Phil pulls up maps of the sewer system and UC Sunnydale utility tunnels, and Jemma points out what she saw of Hydra’s lair. Melinda frowns. Fighting hand-to-hand is not an option, especially since the demons and vampires will be a lot more familiar with the tunnels than they are. Phil and Jemma search through his spellbooks until they find a spell that will set fire to the lair, so long as the spell can be activated at five points surrounding it.

“These three spots should be reasonably easy to get to,” Phil says. “They’re out of the way from the main entrance of the lair. But these two will be trickier. From what Jemma saw there’s a lot of traffic leading to these two points. But we have to set the spell here, or it won’t work.”

“Melinda and I will handle them,” Skye says. She looks at Melinda for confirmation, and she nods.

“Ideally, we would activate each point simultaneously,” Jemma says, “or as close to that as possible.”

“That leaves us one person short. These three points are too far apart for us to activate them and meet up for the final piece of the spell,” Phil says.

“We need more help,” Skye says, and she can tell from their faces that they are all thinking of Fitz. Ms. May is still not back from the hospital, and they all worry that it means that Fitz is in bad shape.

“What about Trip and Mack? They helped out when we were at the beach dealing with that freezing spell,” Jemma says.

“Can we trust them?” Phil asks, and Jemma nods.

Skye looks hesitant. “I don’t know Jemma. I know they’re your friends, but --” It is hard for her to put into words how she is feeling. She is not one to trust easily, but in the past few months she has let so many people into her life. She had thought that all these gambles were paying off, but the one she thought was a sure thing, Ward, is the one that just kidnapped her and tried to turn her into a vampire.

Melinda and Phil look at Jemma again, who says, “I trust them, and we need their help.”

“Call them,” Phil says. He turns back to the map. “They can set things up here and here, while you and I set up the spell here. Skye and Melinda will handle the two positions here, as well as any vampires and demons that come our way.”

“How much time will you need after everything is in position?” Melinda asks.

“Not too long hopefully. Once everything is in position, it will only take a few minutes activate the spell.”

While Jemma calls Trip and Mack, and Phil goes over the spell again to make sure they have all the necessary ingredients, Skye goes upstairs to get changed, and Melinda follows her.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

“Yeah,” Skye says quickly, but her tone is not convincing. “Is all this going to be enough?”

“It has to be.”

“I didn’t get a chance before, to thank you for rescuing me.” Melinda is quiet, and Skye finds herself admitting, “You know for a minute there, I actually kind of believed Ward. I wasn’t sure you’d come for me.”

Melinda looks saddened to hear that. “When I first got back to Sunnydale, I didn’t think I could go back to being the slayer. I thought with you here, I could put that behind me. But I couldn’t stop worrying about you. I came back to this life for you. I couldn’t stand by and make you do this alone. Not when I knew I could protect you.”

Skye is stunned. “I thought this was all about duty and destiny.”

Melinda shakes her head. “My contract with the Watchers’ Council expired when I did. I’m here because I want to be.”

She wants to say something snarky, but she cannot think of anything. Instead she says, “No one’s ever cared about me like that before,” Skye says. “Thanks for having my back.”

*****

When they get back downstairs, Melinda’s mother is back from the hospital. She is sitting on the couch with Jemma, who looks devastated.

“How’s Fitz?” Skye asks.

Ms. May’s face is grim. “He’s in surgery right now. His mother is still at the hospital.”

“Surgery? But he’s going to be okay, right?”

“It’s too soon to say. The doctors said that it will be a while before he’s out of the woods, even if the surgery goes well.”

“What kind of surgery?” Skye asks.

“Brain surgery. He had bleeding into his brain.”

Jemma looks like she is trying not to cry, and Skye goes over to the couch and gives her a hug.

“He’s going to be okay,” Skye says. “We’ll visit him after all this is over. Bring him a stuffed animal to cheer him up.”

Ms. May’s radar goes up at what Skye says, and she gives Melinda and Phil a significant look. “What are you planning?” Ms. May asks Melinda and Phil.

Melinda glances at Phil, who says, “We’re going after the creatures responsible for all this. Tonight.”

“The vampire who kidnapped Skye?”

“He’s dead,” Phil says, “but he was working for a demon called Hydra that’s taken up residence in Sunnydale. It’s trying to create super-powered vampires.”

Melinda is glad that he leaves out the part about slayer blood being the key ingredient for those super-powered vampires. She does not need to give her mother any more reasons to worry about her and Skye.

Skye looks thoughtful. “I think there’s something else going on. Ward and Raina kept talking about needing to save Garrett’s life. He’s really loyal to Garrett because he ordered a vampire to turn him.”

“John Garrett? That boy you went to school with?” Ms. May asks.

“Yeah. He didn’t show any interest in demons or magic back then, but who knows? Maybe he got involved in magic in college and came back to town looking for power,” Phil says.

Ms. May frowns. “I wonder if this has something to do with his accident.”

“What accident?” Skye asks.

“He was in a car accident a few years ago, his first Christmas break after he left for college. Drunk driving. The DA’s office was going to charge him, but in the end we reached a plea agreement with his attorney. But he was very seriously injured. He was in the ICU for weeks after the accident, and there were a lot of complications. I heard that his parents were looking for a specialist in LA who could help him.”

Melinda vaguely remembers her mother mentioning the accident at the time, but she had not realized how serious it had been. “He seemed healthy when we saw him at the diner a few months ago.”

“He could be using magic to stay alive. There are some spells that can do it, but they take a lot of magic and only work for a while,” Jemma says. “He’d need more and more powerful magic as time went on.”

Phil and Melinda exchange a look. Neither of them are completely sure how powerful the spell Fury used is, but judging from the fact that a partial version kept Phil alive after being stabbed through the heart, the whole thing might be able to completely repair Garrett’s injuries. “Melinda shot him when we ran into him earlier, and he looked like he was in bad shape. We should strike as soon as possible before he has the chance to use any more magic to heal himself. We’ll leave tonight just before sunset.”

*****

As soon as Mack and Trip arrive, Jemma and Phil explain the plan to them. To make their part of the spell as easy as possible, Jemma has put the ingredients into paper bags, and she hands one to each of the boys.

Mack peers into his bag. It is half full of dried herbs and flowers, as well as several unfamiliar objects. “So what are we supposed to do with this stuff?”

Jemma points to where she has set up a demonstration on the kitchen table. “We need to create a pentagram around the demon lair with one of these at each point. At the bottom of the bag, there’s a paper bowl. Place all the herbs and flowers inside, then put the dried salamander skin on top, and finally place the salamander eyes on top, so that they are looking towards the center of the pentagram.”

Mack digs through his bag to make sure he can find all of the ingredients. He grimaces when he pulls out a ziplock baggy with the salamander eyes. “Ew.”

Jemma looks apologetic. “I know it’s kind of weird, but the salamander has unique properties that are crucial for the spell.”

“It’s cool,” Trip says. “So we put all this together and then what?”

“Then back away and make sure that nothing disturbs it until Phil and I can complete the spell.”

“And how will we know when that happens?” Mack asks.

“Each pyre will catch fire, and the fire will spread to connect the five points and ultimately burn inwards until everything inside the pentagram is destroyed.”

“Note to self: be sure to stand outside the pentagram,” Trip says.

“Are you guys going to be able to handle this?” Phil asks.

“Sure, no problem,” Trip says, and Mack nods.

“Good. We have you each going to points that shouldn’t get a lot of traffic, but be careful. If you see any demons or vampires, run. They have superhuman strength and speed and aren’t easy to kill.”

“Are you sure this will do the trick?” Mack asks.

Phil nods. “Hydra is a powerful demon, and its followers are even stronger than usual, but they’re still vulnerable to the normal vampire weaknesses including fire.”

“Like in the myth, right? Hercules used fire to keep the Hydra’s heads from growing back,” Trip says.

“Exactly,” Jemma says.

“Jemma and I will be here if there are any problems,” Phil says gesturing at the map. He glances at the clock. “We should get going soon. I’m going to help Melinda and Skye bring up the last of the weapons.” He disappears down into the basement.

“Thanks for doing this,” Jemma says.

“No problem. Happy to help fight the forces of evil. This is a pretty amazing spell,” Trip says.

“It’s mostly Phil’s doing. He knows a lot more about magic than I do.”

“Well it’s still impressive. You guys are like a real live team of superheroes.”

Jemma shakes her head. She is still feeling guilty for leading Fitz into danger. At the time, it had seemed like a great idea. They had read about glamours, and she thought that it would be enough to protect them. Now she wishes that she had waited for Melinda and Skye instead of trying to be a hero. “Melinda and Skye are the heroes. They’re the slayers. And Phil has special training to be their watcher. But I don’t have anything like that.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re not special too, or that you aren’t one of the heroes. You tried to help with that freezing spell on the beach, and now you’re working on this big spell to take down this demon. Even without powers and training, you’re a force to be reckoned with, Jemma Simmons. I’m glad you’re one of the good guys.”

Jemma smiles. “Thanks.”

Phil comes up the stairs carrying a crossbow, followed by Melinda and Skye. Melinda and Skye are both carrying stakes, and Skye also has a short axe on her belt. Phil hands Mack and Trip each a cross and some stakes to protect themselves.

“Are you guys ready?” Phil asks.

Mack and Jemma nod.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Trip says.

“Good,” Skye says. “Let’s go kick some ass.”

Melinda smiles. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”


	12. Chapter 12

As they near Hydra’s lair, the six of them have to split up to enter the sewers. Skye gives Jemma and Phil a nervous smile as they open up their hatch, then follows Melinda to another access point a few thousand feet away. The tunnel is dark and difficult to navigate, even with flashlights. They walk quietly towards the lair, listening for any sign that they are not alone, until they reach a crossroads.

“When you’re done, meet me back here,” Melinda whispers to Skye. “If Hydra wants to stop us from completing the spell, they’ll need to come through this point to get to the others. We can hold them off here until Phil and Jemma can complete the spell.”

“Okay. Be careful out there.”

“You too.”

Skye feels a sense of foreboding as she watches Melinda walk down one fork, which she tries to shrug off. She’s faced things like this before, but never with so many people that she cares about by her side. She hopes everyone can do their part and make it out okay. 

She expects to run into someone else in the tunnels, but they are completely empty as she makes her way to the designated area and sets up the pyre. It is simple enough to assemble, though when she dumps the salamander eyes on top, one of them rolls away, and she has to chase after it. It takes a few minutes to find it in the dark, and when she stands up, she sees someone watching her in the shadows. It is too tall to be Melinda, and she immediately takes a defensive stance.

“Hello, Skye,” Ward says. “It’s good to see you again.” 

*****

Melinda makes sure to set up her pyre in a dark corner of the sewer to keep it away from prying eyes. She wants to get back to the crossroads as soon as possible to rejoin Skye, but she is worried about leaving the pyre unguarded before the spell activates. According to Phil and Jemma, once it has been lit, only magic will be able to extinguish the flame, but before that, it is vulnerable to interference. Even before she finishes setting everything up, she hears a vampire approach her, and she quickly slays it before finishing. She takes out two more while she is waiting for the spell to activate, and as soon as she sees the first tendrils of smoke, she bolts down the tunnels and back to the crossroads.

When she gets there, she finds no sign of Skye, but there are plenty of vampires passing through to keep her busy. She handles the first few with ease, but before long it is hard for her to keep up with the steady stream of new vampires.

She is fighting off two vampires at once -- staking the first while dodging a punch from the second -- when out of the corner of her eye she sees John Garrett and Raina approaching her.

“You know,” John says, “I heard that you were good, but seeing you in action really is something else. Talent like that, it’s almost a shame to kill you. Are you sure I can’t convince you to switch sides? My buddy Ward says that turning him was the best thing that ever happened to him. Gave him a second chance at life, a better life.”

“How’d that work out for him?” Melinda asks as she kicks the second vampire in the head and sends him flying into the wall. Before he can pick himself up, she shoves her stake into his chest, turning him to dust. “Considering he died for the second time last night.”

John smirks. “Really? Then I wonder who it was that I sent after your girl Skye just now.” He smiles at the look for surprise on her face. “Ward’s a survivor, Melinda. I understand you are too. I could use someone like that working for me. Hell, I’ll even let you turn Phil so you have someone to play with for all eternity.”

“You’re disgusting.” She walks towards him, and Raina raises her hands. Before she can send a spell against Melinda though, John stops her.

“The power you gave me has made me strong again. I want to enjoy this.” Raina shrugs and looks bored as John approaches Melinda with a cocky grin on his face.

She launches a whirlwind attack of rapidly alternating kicks and punches, but John moves with superhuman speed and strength to block or dodge every attack.

“Told you I was strong,” he says smugly. His arm shoots out, and he gets a firm grip on her neck. He lifts her off the ground with one hand and squeezes her throat so hard that she cannot breathe. “You really shouldn’t be so overconfident, Melinda. You’re going to get yourself hurt.” He throws her against the wall, and she crumples to the ground. He pauses a moment to make sure she is not moving, then steps towards her saying, “Well that was almost too easy.”

*****

During a break in the chanting, Jemma looks nervously at her watch. “Why hasn’t the fire spread yet?” she asks.

“The other pyres must not be assembled yet. I hope the others haven’t run into trouble. Maybe you should text Mack and Trip,” he suggests. Melinda and Skye have gone into the more dangerous area, but at least they can handle themselves. He is worried about Mack and Trip, who have never even faced vampires before.

Jemma pulls out her phone and types furiously. “Mack says that everything went fine, and he’s back at his truck, but Trip hasn’t come back yet.” She looks up at Phil, her eyes wide with worry. “And Trip’s not responding to either of our texts.”

“He may be in trouble.” Phil picks up his crossbow. “I’m going to go check on him. Stay here and keep chanting Jemma. Completing this spell is our only chance.”

She looks terrified, but she nods and says, “Okay.”

Phil jogs down the sewer towards Trip’s station. When he is about halfway there, he hears footsteps behind him and barely manages to dodge in time to avoid being punched by a vampire. He aims with his crossbow and when the vampire comes at him again, he fires and sends a bolt right into his heart.

“I guess I know why Trip isn’t answering,” he mutters to himself. He sprints towards Trip’s station and arrives in time to see Trip putting up a valiant fight against another vampire. Trip is fast enough that he manages to dodge several of the blows, but eventually the vampire lands a punch to his stomach that sends him flying into the wall. 

“Phil!” Trip yells. “The pyre -- over there --” he points at where the pyre is half assembled a few feet away.

Unfortunately this also draws the vampire’s attention, and he rushes towards Phil menacingly. Phil gets a shot off, but it lodges in the vampire’s stomach and does not even slow him down. He grabs the crossbow and throws it against the wall, and Phil winces as he hears it shatter. The vampire grabs his head to snap his neck, but before he can do it, Trip has lept on the vampire’s back and is kicking him vigorously.

The vampire stumbles backwards, and in doing so runs into the pyre. While Phil was fighting with the vampire, Trip has managed to assemble it, and the flames are growing higher and higher. The vampire screams as his legs catch on fire, and it quickly spreads up his body. Trip jumps off right before the vampire is engulfed in flames and disappears into a cloud of dust.

“Nice job,” Phil says.

“Thanks.” He looks at the fire. “Now what?”

“Now it’s up to Jemma to complete the spell. Come on, we’d need to get back to her.”

*****

“I thought you were dead,” Skye says coldly.

“Sorry baby,” he says, “but I’m a survivor. It’s going to take more than a burning building to stop me.”

Skye raises her stake. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Ward raises his hands and approaches her. “Before you use that, I was hoping you’d reconsider my offer. If you come with me now, I’m willing to forgive everything that happened before.”

Skye laughs incredulously. “You really are delusional if you think I’m going to do anything other than shove this stake right into your heart.”

Ward smirks. “I wouldn’t be so hasty if I were you. I know things about you, Skye. Things you don’t even know about yourself. Your father for example.”

Skye tightens her grip on the stake. “My father?”

“He’s spent years searching for you. He loves you. He wants you two to be a family, but the Watchers’ Council has been keeping you from him.”

“I’m not falling for your lies, Ward.”

“It’s not a lie. I only have your best interest at heart. I want to take care of you.”

“I don’t need your help,” Skye says. “I’ll take my chances with my friends.”

“You may think they’re your friends, but you can’t trust them. Raina told me about your destiny. You’re going to destroy the line of slayers.”

She flinches, and Ward smiles.

“Once the Watcher’s Council realizes this, they’ll try to destroy you. But I can protect you.” He steps closer. “Come with me Skye. I’ll protect you from the Watcher’s Council, take you to your father --”

Her arm moves so fast that he does not even see it as she rams her stake into his chest. The last look he gives her is one of shock before he crumbles into dust.

“I don’t believe you,” she whispers, but the tears in her eyes say otherwise.

*****

John is smirking as he approaches Melinda’s fallen body. “You know, I thought a slayer would prove to be more a challenge,” he tells Raina.

As soon as John is within range, Melinda’s arm shoots out to pull him off his feet. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

He is back on his feet as fast as she is, and they eye each other warily. John is the first to attack, and for a while Melinda finds herself too busy blocking his attacks to go on the offensive. But as the fight wears on, John starts fading quickly. The first thing to go is his superhuman speed, and without it, his movements become slow and awkward. It is easier for her to block his attacks, and she manages to land a few glancing blows before delivering a kick to his chest that throws him against the wall. He lies there for a second, glaring at her and clutching his chest.

“Raina!” he shouts.

Throughout the fight Raina has been chanting in a low voice with her arms outstretched in front of her, but when Melinda throws him against the wall, she looks furious. She raises her arms to the air and shouts something in an unfamiliar language. A purple ball of light seems to rise up from inside John, causing his body to spasm. It flows back into Raina, and once it does, John falls back onto the ground, limp. Melinda walks over to him cautiously and nudges him with her boot. He does not respond, and she knows that he is dead.

She turns to face Raina. “What did you do?”

Raina looks completely nonchalant. “I took my power back.”

“You killed him.”

“He was only alive because of my spells. But I could tell it wasn’t going to be enough against you. I have no particular loyalty to Garrett or to Hydra. We had a mutually beneficial arrangement, but that’s come to an end now.”

“You killed him,” Melinda repeats.

“What’s the problem? Are you disappointed that you didn’t get the satisfaction of killing him yourself?”

“Slayers don’t kill humans,” Melinda says.

Raina’s response surprises her. “Too bad for you. You’re going to find that attitude severely limiting with what comes next.”

“Facing Hydra? We know how to destroy Hydra.” As if on cue, the spell springs to life, and a blaze of fire cuts through the sewer, separating Melinda and Raina.

Raina does not look impressed. “You have bigger problems to worry about than Hydra,” she says. “Events have been set into motion that will bring about the end of the entire slayer line.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Believe me or not. But that’s what’s coming for you.” Raina looks around her at the flames that are now filling the tunnels. She gives Melinda one last smile and turns to leave. “If I were you, I’d rethink that policy against killing humans,” she tosses over her shoulder as she walks back down the sewers.

Melinda debates going after her, but the flames are too high to cross. She turns and runs back the way she came. Relief washes over her as she sees Skye, looking bruised and tired but otherwise unharmed.

“Skye! You’re alright.”

“Yeah, I ran into Ward, but I dusted him. What happened to you?”

“Ran into Garrett and Raina.”

“Did you kill them?”

“No. Garrett was being kept alive by magic, just like Jemma thought, but Raina stopped her spell, and he died.”

“What about Raina?”

“She escaped back down the tunnel after the fire spell activated. I couldn’t get to her through the flames.”

Skye grabs her hand. “We need to get out of here. Before the fire gets any bigger.”

“I’m right behind you,” she says, and together they run out of the sewer and back towards home.

*****

After making sure that Mack, Trip, and Jemma get home safely, Melinda, Phil, and Skye return to the May house to go over what happened. Phil shudders when he hears about how Ward came for Skye again, but she assures him that this time she watched him disappear into dust. They can tell that she is holding something back about their encounter, but when Phil pushes her for details, Skye pleads exhaustion and goes upstairs to get ready for bed.

Phil frowns. “There’s something she’s not telling us.”

“She’ll tell us in her own time. There’s something that I wanted to talk to you about privately too. Raina said there’s something new on the horizon that’s going to threaten the entire slayer line.”

Phil looks thoughtful. “She could have been lying, but we can’t take that chance.”

“What should we do?”

“I’ll contact the Watchers’ Council and see if they know anything about a prophecy about the end of the slayer line. In the meantime, we’ll just have to be careful.”

She nods. “At least we destroyed Hydra.”

“Just one Hydra cell. There are still followers all over the world. `Cut off one head, and two more grow in it’s place.’” He sighs. “We have no way of knowing if or when they’ll retaliate. But hopefully we’ll be safe for a little while.” He is silent for a moment before admitting, “I keep thinking about John. I can’t believe that he did all this. He wasn’t a monster. He was just a regular guy like me.”

“He was nothing like you,” Melinda says fiercely. “He may have been human, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t a monster. In a way it’s even worse than if he’d been a demon or a vampire because he had a soul, and he still chose to do those things.”

“It’s scary though. I’ve known him since we were eleven, and I never would have guessed that he could do something like this. It’s easy to think that all the evil in the world is from demons and vampires and other monsters, but the truth is that people can be just as horrible as any of them.”

“Or not.” Melinda squeezes his hand. “Look at you, Fitz, Jemma, Mack, and Trip. For Skye and me, this is our destiny, but you all choose to put yourselves in harm’s way to protect the world.”

“It isn’t really a choice,” he says. “I couldn’t live with myself if I turned a blind eye to all this. You mean too much to me.”

“You mean a lot to me too.” She struggles to put how she is feeling into words. She still worries about losing him if he continues to put himself in danger like this, but she cannot keep pushing him away. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he promises her.

They both know that that is a promise that neither one of them is in a position to keep. There are too many forces outside of their control. But for now Melinda lets herself be reassured by his words. “Me neither.” She puts her arms around him and pulls him close to her.

She presses her lips to his, and she feels him wrap his arms around her tightly. Their kisses start out sweet and familiar, but quickly grow increasingly passionate. His hands work their way under her pajama shirt to stroke the smooth skin of her back, which makes Melinda pull away quickly.

“Not here,” she says quietly, and for a second he looks hurt and confused. But then she makes her meaning clear by taking his hand and leading him up the stairs to her bedroom.

They try to be quiet, but outside Skye’s door they run into her on her way to the bathroom. She raises her eyebrows when she sees Melinda blushing and Phil’s dopey smile. Then she smiles. “It’s about time.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pure Philinda smut. If you prefer not to read it, you can skip straight to the epilogue without missing any of the plot.

As soon as he closes the door to her bedroom, Melinda grabs him and kisses him. He wraps his arms around her waist and stumbles towards her bed. Her hands are tugging at his t-shirt, and she has it about halfway off when they fall backwards onto her bed. They land with him on top of her, and he looks worried.

“Did I hurt you?” he whispers.

She smiles and rolls her eyes. But he looks genuinely concerned, so she touches his face and says, “I’m resilient. I’m the slayer.”

“Still, you got banged up pretty good today.”

“I’ll survive.” She pulls his shirt off over his head. She still flinches when she sees the large scar over his heart, but she brushes her fingers over it. “We both will.” She lowers her mouth and kisses his scar. He shivers a little bit. The skin over his scar tingles when she touches it, and his breath quickens. She smiles up at him and then turns her attention to his boxers. She slips her hand under the elastic and strokes his cock, which earns her a low groan, and she kisses him to muffle the noise.

Even though they have done this countless times before when they were dating, there is something a little thrilling about being in her bedroom. They never used to use her bedroom when they were in high school for fear that her mother would catch them. Now that same knowledge makes everything that much more exciting, and she cannot help but tease him with little touches that leave him gasping.

He moves her hand away and pulls off the T-shirt and shorts that she sleeps in. Now it is her turn to moan as he slides his fingers inside her panties and strokes her vulva. He pushes one finger inside her, then a second, and she moves against his hand so that his palm presses against her clit. She moans again and closes her eyes, grinding away against his hand until she is panting with desire. She tugs at his boxers, and he pulls them off and kicks them onto the floor.

“Do you have a condom?” he whispers.

She shakes her head. “No, but I’m on the pill.”

“I haven’t been with anyone else.”

“Me neither.”

She flips them so that she is lying on top, and lowers herself onto his cock, sighing as she feels him enter her.

Phil moans and pulls her down so that her breasts are pressed against his chest. “I’ve missed this,” he whispers.

She kisses him. For so long she had worried that she had lost herself and Phil forever, but being together now feels so right. She rides him, slowly at first, enjoying the familiar feel of his body against hers. He moves his hand between them and presses his fingers against her clit, sending a jolt through her body. She quickens her pace, and the pleasure builds until she is trembling and gasping with pleasure, pressing her face into the pillow to muffle her cries. He thrusts up into her a few more times, then groans with his own release.

She slides off of him and rests her head against his shoulder. They lie like that for a few moments in silence, trying to catch their breath. Finally he says, “That was great.”

She murmurs in agreement. She wraps her body around his and lets herself melt into the comforting warmth of his embrace. They lie like that for a while, her head on his shoulder and his face pressed against her hair. Finally he says, “I should go.”

“Don’t. Stay.”

“But your mom --”

Melinda rolls her eyes. At one point she too would have been afraid of her mother’s reaction if she found them in bed together, but now she does not care. “She knows we’ve had sex. We used to live together.” 

“Okay.” He kisses her. “But you have to protect me from your mother when she finds out I spent the night here.”

“I will.” She kisses him and settles back into his arms. Tomorrow they will have to deal with her mother and worry about Fitz and try to figure out what Raina’s warning means. But for tonight they just have each other.


	14. Epilogue

One of the nice things about summer is that the sun sets late enough that Melinda can work the dinner shift and still make it out in time to go patrolling with Skye. During the school year, she tries to only work the breakfast and lunch shifts, but those crowds do not tip as well as the dinner crowd. Tonight has been busy, but at least she has a pocket full of tips to show for it. She finishes checking out her last customers shortly before her shift ends and goes to wipe down her tables one last time while keeping an eye out for Skye. She is coming by for dinner before patrolling, and Melinda makes a mental note to bring her a salad instead of fries with her burger.

She does not notice anyone come in, but when she goes to wipe down the tables, there is a woman waiting for her. Her face is half-hidden beneath a red fedora, but Melinda recognizes her immediately.

“Hello Peggy. Would you like something to drink?” Melinda says handing her a menu.

Peggy Carter smiles up at her. “Melinda. I heard you were working as a waitress, but I had to see it for myself.”

Melinda rolls her eyes. She does not know why people seem to think it is so unbelievable that she is a waitress. “I didn’t know you were back in town.”

“I just popped over for a short visit to check on some things. I wasn’t even sure I’d have time to see you, but fortunately I did. How are you? And how are Phil and Skye?”

“We’re okay. I mean considering everything that’s happened the past few months.”

“Good. I wanted you to know that the Council is very impressed about how the three of you handled yourselves recently.”

Melinda stares at her hands. “I thought you were going to yell at me for letting Phil and Skye be kidnapped, not to mention starting all this with that spell I cast on Phil.”

“We weren’t happy to learn that you and Mr. Fury disobeyed the Council’s ban on that particular spell, but considering the circumstances, you did quite well handling the repercussions.”

“Thank you. So what happens now?”

“Now?”

“With Skye? Are you going to start training her? Or are you going to send a new watcher?”

“I don’t see why she needs a new watcher. Her current watcher is doing a more than adequate job.”

“But Phil’s not a real watcher. He doesn’t have all of the experience than you and Fury had when you trained me.”

“I actually don’t know if that’s true. Certainly, Mr. Fury and I had many years of education and training from the Watcher’s Council, but Phil has significantly more field experience than most young watchers. He’s been patrolling with you since you two were what, fifteen? And she doesn’t just have Phil to train her, she has you as well. Between the two of you, Skye is in excellent hands here in Sunnydale.”

“It’s so hard,” Melinda admits. “Phil and I work with her, but I’m still so worried about her every time we go patrolling.”

Peggy pats her hand. “You’re doing a wonderful job, Melinda. And if you need anything, you can always contact me.”

“Even though you’re head of the Watcher’s Council now?”

“They do have telephones in England, you know. And I may be head of the Watcher’s Council, but I’ll always be your watcher.”

Melinda’s manager fixes her with a pointed look, and Peggy rises. “I suppose that’s my cue to let you get back to work.”

Melinda stops her. “Peggy, before you go, there was something Phil and I wanted to ask you about. A witch told me that there’s a new threat coming, one that would bring about the end of the slayer line. Have you heard anything like that?”

Melinda is expecting Peggy to be surprised or concerned, but her face is unreadable. “Thank you for telling me about this. We’ll look into it.” She picks up her hat and disappears out the door.

A few minutes later Skye comes in. “Who was that woman who just drove out of here in that cool red convertible?”

“Peggy Carter. She was my first watcher before Fury took over.”

“Cool. So does that make her like my grand-watcher or something?”

Melinda rolls her eyes. “That makes me sound like your mother.”

Skye grins. “Are you almost done? I’m starving. I could eat two cheeseburgers tonight.”

“One cheeseburger only,” Melinda says as she grabs them each a menu and points Skye towards an empty booth, “and you’re getting a salad tonight.”

“Salad!”

“If Mom knows how many french fries you’ve been eating lately, we’ll both be in trouble.”

“Fine. But we still get dessert.”

“Obviously. There’s apple pie tonight.”

“Yes!” Skye does a little dance in her seat, then stops when she sees how Melinda is looking at her. “What?”

“Nothing,” Melinda says. She wants to hug her, but because they are seated on opposite sides of the booth she settles for saying, “I was just thinking about how much I used to wish for there to be another slayer. I’m glad it came true.”

“Me too,” Skye says.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! We hope you enjoyed this story as much as we enjoyed writing it.
> 
> As you might have guessed from the hints we dropped in the last few chapters, there will be a sequel that will address these new questions. What new danger is heading for them, and what does it mean for the slayer line? And what does this have to do with Skye?


End file.
